093_HB0136eng HB0136 Engrossed LRB093 03357 DRH 03375 b 1 AN ACT in relation to vehicles. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by 5 changing Section 12-609 as follows: 6 (625 ILCS 5/12-609) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12-609) 7 Sec. 12-609. (a) No official or employee of the State, 8orany political subdivision thereof, any county, 9 municipality, or local authority, and no owner or employee of 10 any new vehicle dealer, used vehicle dealer, or vehicle 11 auctioneer shall sell, trade or otherwise dispose of any 12 motor vehicle bearing equipment, markings, or other indicia 13 of police authority unless, prior to delivery of the vehicle, 14 the equipment and markings have been sufficiently altered or 15 obliterated to remove the appearance of such authority. 16 (b) A person may not operate on the highways of this 17 State a vehicle bearing the equipment, markings, or other 18 indicia of police authority, unless the vehicle is an 19 authorized emergency vehicle as defined in Section 1-105 of 20 this Code. 21 (c) This Section does not apply to vehicles bearing 22 indicia of police authority that are antique vehicles, as 23 defined in Section 1-102.1, and are registered as antique 24 vehicles, as provided in Section 3-804. 25 (d) Any police officer is authorized to seize any 26 vehicle that is in violation of this Section and to impound 27 that vehicle, at the owner's expense, until any equipment, 28 markings, or other indicia of police authority have been 29 sufficiently removed, altered, or obliterated to remove the 30 appearance of police authority. 31 (e) A person convicted of violating this Section is HB0136 Engrossed -2- LRB093 03357 DRH 03375 b 1 guilty of a petty offense and subject to a fine of not less 2 than $500 and not more than $1,000. 3 (Source: P.A. 79-544; 79-1454.)