The Illinois Tollway Authority board of directors on Thursday approved collecting two years' worth of tolls and fines from Indiana motorists that could total up to $7.4 million.

"We'd like them to come to Illinois. We just want them to pay their tolls," Tollway Authority board member Bill Morris said during the authority's regular meeting in Downers Grove.

Up to 116,000 Hoosier motorists soon could be receiving steep bills for up to two years of back tolls and hit with fines of $20 for each violation.

The problem originally stemmed from the way the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles assigned license plate numbers; a vehicle such as a car with one type of license plate and a truck with another type of plate could be assigned the same number, said Graig Lubsen, a spokesman for the BMV.

For several months, collections from Indiana drivers were put on hold while the Illinois Tollway Authority worked with the Indiana BMV to ensure the Indiana plates and vehicles could be properly identified. Once the problem was solved, the contractor managing toll collections apparently neglected to flip the switch to again collect tolls from Indiana drivers who might have duplicate plates.

Indiana motorists who were not charged tolls now will be receiving bills for missed tolls from July 2008 through June 2010. They also will be hit with a $20 fine for each missed toll.

Those with I-Pass, I-Zoom or other EZ-Pass transponders at the time of the alleged violations will not have to pay the fines if they call the I-Pass customer service center. But those without transponders will have to pay up.

There will be no discount on the back tolls for I-Pass and other electronic transponder users, who normally get 50 percent off. That is per Tollway policy and is not unique to Indiana violators, Tollway Authority spokeswoman Joelle McGinnis said.

Jen Hill, of Griffith, is one of those who was anxiously awaiting the Illinois Tollway Authority's decision Thursday.

That's because one week ago her husband received an I-Pass bill for a month of back tolls and fines totaling $980 for the GMC Sierra he drives to work every day in Illinois.

A call to the I-Pass service center got the fines wiped out, but they would not give the Hills the I-Pass discount on tolls, telling them they had to pay full price.

"They told me it was my fault because I didn't tell them it was a truck plate," Hill said.

Now, the Hills are bracing for another big bill for at least a year of tolls and fines for her husband's daily commute. They are glad the fines are being wiped out. But they fear the Tollway Authority's refusal to give them a discount on tolls on their last bill means they will basically be charged double.