River Forest to ticket car sticker scofflaws

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Updated: April 10, 2012 11:55AM

River Forest will begin cracking down on residents who do not purchase vehicle stickers from the village, according to a press release issued by the police department last week.

On Feb. 4, River Forest police mailed citation notices to about 300 residents who are believed to not be adhering to an ordinance that requires the purchase of a village sticker. The mailers advised the local vehicle owners to purchase vehicle stickers and to pay a fine for failing to do so previously.

Police compared the Illinois Secretary of State’s website to its own database to see which residents had licenses and cars registered to River Forest addresses but had not purchased stickers, the press release states.

“Residents that receive these citations have had ample opportunity to address this issue with the village,” said Police Chief Greg Weiss, in a press release. “We have sent several mailings, and have also had village staff personally visit as many of the residences on our violation list as possible in order to obtain voluntary compliance.”

Police did all of this after noticing that many cars in town did not display the stickers, according to Deputy Police Chief Craig Rutz.

Residents without the stickers are being advised to come to village hall and purchase the $45 sticker. There will also be a $20 late fee tacked on for failing to buy one in the first place.

If local drivers do not come in and buy the sticker, they could receive another $30 ticket from officers who will now be strictly enforcing the ordinance.

Locals who are cited for not having stickers have the right to attend a court hearing at village hall to contest the fine, Rutz said.