Sticker shock is what one gets when one pays a ticket at the County Courthouse.
It’s more if one decides to contest the ticket.
Take a look at what your check or credit card pays for.
Most were approved by the McHenry County Board before they went into effect.
Below are two examples of the fines & fees on a cell phone ticket.
Paid without a court appearance per Supreme Court Rule 529 – TOTAL $120.00
Date | Type | Amount |
07-09-2014 | IL STATE POLICE OPERATION ASSISTANCE FEE | $8.00 |
07-09-2014 | FINE-CITY OF WOODSTOCK | $42.28 |
07-09-2014 | STATE OF ILLINOIS-SC RULE 529 | $15.98 |
07-09-2014 | MCHENRY COUNTY-SC RULE 529 | $36.74 |
07-09-2014 | COURT DOCUMENT STORAGE FEE | $9.00 |
07-09-2014 | COURT AUTOMATION FEE | $8.00 |
Appearing in Court – Judgment of Conviction with $75 fine set by judge –TOTAL $312.00
Date | Type | Amount |
05-15-2014 | STATE POLICE OPERATION ASSISTANCE FEE (Paid to IL Treasurer) | $15.00 |
05-15-2014 | FINE-VILLAGE OF OAKWOOD HILLS | $75.00 |
05-15-2014 | VIOLENT CRIME ASSISTANCE FUND (Paid to IL Treasurer) | $50.00 |
05-15-2014 | DRIVERS LICENSE EDUCATION FEE (Paid to IL Treasurer) | $12.00 |
05-15-2014 | Traffic/Criminal CONVICTION SURCHARGE (paid to IL Treasurer) | $30.00 |
05-15-2014 | CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER FINE (Paid to McHenry County Child Advocacy Center) | $13.00 |
05-15-2014 | STATES ATTORNEY AUTOMATION FEE | $2.00 |
05-15-2014 | Municipal ATTY.FEE-OAKWOOD HILLS (Paid to Oakwood Hills for municipal prosecutor) | $25.00 |
05-15-2014 | COURT SECURITY FEE | $25.00 |
05-15-2014 | COURT FEE | $5.00 |
05-15-2014 | DRUG COURT FINE | $5.00 |
05-15-2014 | MENTAL HEALTH COURT FINE | $10.00 |
05-15-2014 | ELECTRONIC CITATION-OAKWOOD HILLS PD | $5.00 |
05-15-2014 | COURT DOCUMENT FEE | $15.00 |
05-15-2014 | COURT AUTOMATION FEE | $15.00 |
05-15-2014 | CIRCUIT CLERK FEE | $10.00 |
Below is an explanation of the various court fees, which is handed out by the Circuit Clerk’s Office:
Couple of comments.
1. Court costs are 100% set by the state. Direct your complaints there.
2. Court costs are high because litigants (instead of tax payers) bear a large proportion of the expense of having courts. I see no compelling reason to shift the burden of operating courts to the vast majority of citizens who will never go before a judge in their life.
Mark, I wish I could say you are right.
Some of the court fees are set by the State of Illinois, and some are set by the McHenry County Board.
If the defendant forfeits his right to contest the ticket, he pays $120 before the court date. If he goes to court and pleads Guilty without any attempt to fight the ticket, he gets socked $312. Is that fair?
Visit a courtroom and you’ll see many people unsophisticated about how court works.
The current system is a rip-off. For years I considered surveying people arriving at the courthouse and asking them to estimate what the ticket was going to cost them. And then collecting information after they got hammered by the system.
A number of judges will tell defendants that court costs and fees are outrageous. That’s why they set fines low, because they know the people are going to get robbed at the Payment Window.
But if you’re an illegal alien …… guess what, the costs and fines are never paid …….
This is just more dynamite building up in people’s hearts …the government and cops become the enemy ….. just like they did in the 1760’s and 1770’s ….
I received 2 tickets one for speeding and one for expired plate sticker.
Went to court and got court supervision for the speeding ticket and a $60 fine.
The judge waived the fine on the sticker because I got one and showed her proof.
Guess how much the total was when I went to pay the fine for speeding?
$460!!!!!
Two seperate tickets were written at a $200 court fee per ticket!
How do they get away with this!!!!
Drivers license expired less than one year (honest mistake, had it fixed within days) = $387.00 ($30 for the ticket, $357 in fees and fines.)
Jeffrey L. Hirsch, Associate Judge, says “The court fees are very expensive, but I can’t do anything about it.”
Oh, yeah?
So did you become a judge to rip people off or to help Americans?
Please use your position of power and your voice to speak out against the burden that the state is placing on us, the people.