The 82-year-old Democrat, who first took office as secretary of state in 1999, announced this week that he’s reinstating the mailing of vehicle registration reminder notices to IL drivers.
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In October, the mailed reminders were stopped because of the state’s budget crisis. Information also is available from the Secretary of State public inquiry division at 800-252-8980. “Whether it was getting tickets in their local community or having to pay that $20 late fee if you’re more than a month late, we are trying to reach out to that group”, he said.
The state collected more than $9.9 million in fines since then; more than double the total of a year earlier. Late fees go into the state’s general fund and have not enriched the secretary of state’s office.
The office is also drafting legislation to allow advertising on the mailings to help off-set the cost.
Without notice from White’s office, thousands of motorists simply forgot about their obligation to renew their license plate stickers. About 2.3 million drivers are signed up at http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com to receive email renewal reminders, according to White’s office.
Now, if IL lawmakers would put aside their differences to pass a balanced full-year budget, that would be cause for a real celebration.
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It is good to see a return of the renewal notices, and White is wisely looking for ways to limit future costs to taxpayers.
