The following press release comes from the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office about collecting fines folks have neglected to pay:

STATE’S ATTORNEY’S OFFICE COLLECTS OVER 145K IN OUTSTANDING FINES AND COSTS FOR McHENRY COUNTY TAXPAYERS

McHenry County State's Attorney Lou Bianchi

Louis A. Bianchi, McHenry County State’s Attorney, is pleased to announce that in conjunction with the McHenry County Circuit Clerk, Kathy Keefe, that over $145,000 of unpaid fines and court costs has been recovered for the citizens of the County of McHenry in less than a year.

Pursuant to the State’s Attorney’s contract with AllianceOne, a collection agency, the County has successfully recovered this money from delinquent defendants who failed to pay their Court ordered fines and fees due the Circuit Clerk and the County.

This contract was the results of the State’s Attorney’s initiative to pursue the collection of these outstanding fines and costs to help meet the financial needs of the County.

This accomplishment is especially noteworthy since the County pays no portion of the money it collects to the collection agency.

All costs of collection are paid by the delinquent defendants.

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I was curious as to how much delinquents have to pay. Chief Deputy State’s Attorney Tom Carroll provided the following information:

“Out of every $100.00 collected, AllianceOne charges an additional $24.00 for them and the SAO/County gets an additional $6.00. The statute provides for an additional 30% charge that can be assessed to the delinquent offender. We were able to negotiate a better deal for the county.”