SPRINGFIELD | Although his district is a two-hour drive from Chicago, one Central Illinois lawmaker is among a number of downstate politicians dealing with a uniquely Chicago problem.
In recent weeks, state Rep. Dan Brady said his office in Bloomington has handled at least six cases in which his constituents have been hit with fines for not paying to use Chicago's toll roads.
In some cases, people admit they didn't pay the tolls. Others, however, say they are being targeted because the cameras employed by the Illinois Toll Highway Authority didn't correctly read someone's license plate.
"We've had a wide variety of things that triggered the problems," said Brady. "It's really escalated into a huge mess."
The situation is reminiscent of a controversy from years ago in which downstate motorists began receiving parking tickets from Chicago even though they'd never been in the Windy City when the ticket was issued.
It's not only Brady who has dealt with the problem. State Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield, and state Rep. David Reis, R-Willow Hill, have handled similar inquiries.
The rising anger comes in the wake of a report that found apparent flaws in the tollway's violation enforcement system.
Among the problems reported earlier this month by the (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald newspaper: toll cameras that misread a quarter of all Illinois license plates, notices sent to wrong addresses and a computer glitch that delayed sending some violation notices.
The confusion for some downstate drivers is an outgrowth of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's effort to eliminate crowded toll booths in favor of the Open Road Tolling system, which downsized many of the toll collection plazas and began relying on I-PASS lanes that rely on cameras and fines to keep motorists honest.
Toll highway spokeswoman Joelle McGinnis acknowledged there can be some problems when snow or dirt obscures license plates, which makes it tough to identify toll scofflaws. She said the Illinois Secretary of State's office also may have out-of-date or inaccurate information in its database.
"Sometimes there are goofy situations that come up," she added.
McGinnis and Bomke said people receiving violation notices should immediately contact the toll highway authority. Most violations can be appealed by mail, saving people from driving to Chicago's suburbs to fight the violation.
-- Kurt Erickson can be reached at kurt.erickson@lee.net or (217) 789-0865.
