Public Act 096-0288
 
HB2612 Enrolled LRB096 11329 RLJ 21775 b

    AN ACT concerning education programs.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
changing Sections 1-2-1 and 1-2-1.1 as follows:
 
    (65 ILCS 5/1-2-1)  (from Ch. 24, par. 1-2-1)
    Sec. 1-2-1. The corporate authorities of each municipality
may pass all ordinances and make all rules and regulations
proper or necessary, to carry into effect the powers granted to
municipalities, with such fines or penalties as may be deemed
proper. No fine or penalty, however, except civil penalties
provided for failure to make returns or to pay any taxes levied
by the municipality shall exceed $750 and no imprisonment
authorized in Section 1-2-9 for failure to pay any fine,
penalty or cost shall exceed 6 months for one offense.
    A penalty imposed for violation of an ordinance may
include, or consist of, a requirement that the defendant do one
or both of the following:
        (1) Complete an education program, except that a holder
    of a valid commercial driver's license who commits a
    vehicle weight or size restriction violation shall not be
    required to complete an education program under this
    Section.
        (2) Perform perform some reasonable public service
    work such as but not limited to the picking up of litter in
    public parks or along public highways or the maintenance of
    public facilities.
    A default in the payment of a fine or penalty or any
installment of a fine or penalty may be collected by any means
authorized for the collection of monetary judgments. The
municipal attorney of the municipality in which the fine or
penalty was imposed may retain attorneys and private collection
agents for the purpose of collecting any default in payment of
any fine or penalty or installment of that fine or penalty. Any
fees or costs incurred by the municipality with respect to
attorneys or private collection agents retained by the
municipal attorney under this Section shall be charged to the
offender.
    A low-income individual required to complete an education
program under this Section who provides proof of eligibility
for the federal earned income tax credit under Section 32 of
the Internal Revenue Code or the Illinois earned income tax
credit under Section 212 of the Illinois Income Tax Act shall
not be required to pay any fee for participating in a required
education program.
(Source: P.A. 95-389, eff. 1-1-08.)
 
    (65 ILCS 5/1-2-1.1)  (from Ch. 24, par. 1-2-1.1)
    Sec. 1-2-1.1. The corporate authorities of each
municipality may pass ordinances, not inconsistent with the
criminal laws of this State, to regulate any matter expressly
within the authorized powers of the municipality, or incidental
thereto, making violation thereof a misdemeanor punishable by
incarceration in a penal institution other than the
penitentiary not to exceed 6 months. The municipality is
authorized to prosecute violations of penal ordinances enacted
under this Section as criminal offenses by its corporate
attorney in the circuit court by an information, or complaint
sworn to, charging such offense. The prosecution shall be under
and conform to the rules of criminal procedure. Conviction
shall require the municipality to establish the guilt of the
defendant beyond reasonable doubt.
    A penalty imposed for violation of an ordinance may
include, or consist of, a requirement that the defendant do one
or both of the following:
        (1) Complete an education program, except that a holder
    of a valid commercial driver's license who commits a
    vehicle weight or size restriction violation shall not be
    required to complete an education program under this
    Section.
        (2) Perform perform some reasonable public service
    work such as but not limited to the picking up of litter in
    public parks or along public highways or the maintenance of
    public facilities.
    A low-income individual required to complete an education
program under this Section who provides proof of eligibility
for the federal earned income tax credit under Section 32 of
the Internal Revenue Code or the Illinois earned income tax
credit under Section 212 of the Illinois Income Tax Act shall
not be required to pay any fee for participating in a required
education program.
    This Section shall not apply to or affect ordinances now or
hereafter enacted pursuant to Sections 11-5-1, 11-5-2, 11-5-3,
11-5-4, 11-5-5, 11-5-6, 11-40-1, 11-40-2, 11-40-2a, 11-40-3,
11-80-9 and 11-80-16 of the Illinois Municipal Code, as now or
hereafter amended, nor to Sections enacted after this 1969
amendment which replace or add to the Sections herein
enumerated, nor to ordinances now in force or hereafter enacted
pursuant to authority granted to local authorities by Section
11-208 of "The Illinois Vehicle Code", approved September 29,
1969, as now or hereafter amended.
(Source: P.A. 86-299.)
 
    Section 10. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by
changing Sections 11-208.3 and 11-208.6 as follows:
 
    (625 ILCS 5/11-208.3)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-208.3)
    Sec. 11-208.3. Administrative adjudication of violations
of traffic regulations concerning the standing, parking, or
condition of vehicles and automated traffic law violations.
    (a) Any municipality may provide by ordinance for a system
of administrative adjudication of vehicular standing and
parking violations and vehicle compliance violations as
defined in this subsection and automated traffic law violations
as defined in Section 11-208.6. The administrative system shall
have as its purpose the fair and efficient enforcement of
municipal regulations through the administrative adjudication
of automated traffic law violations and violations of municipal
ordinances regulating the standing and parking of vehicles, the
condition and use of vehicle equipment, and the display of
municipal wheel tax licenses within the municipality's
borders. The administrative system shall only have authority to
adjudicate civil offenses carrying fines not in excess of $250
or requiring the completion of a traffic education program, or
both, that occur after the effective date of the ordinance
adopting such a system under this Section. For purposes of this
Section, "compliance violation" means a violation of a
municipal regulation governing the condition or use of
equipment on a vehicle or governing the display of a municipal
wheel tax license.
    (b) Any ordinance establishing a system of administrative
adjudication under this Section shall provide for:
        (1) A traffic compliance administrator authorized to
    adopt, distribute and process parking, compliance, and
    automated traffic law violation notices and other notices
    required by this Section, collect money paid as fines and
    penalties for violation of parking and compliance
    ordinances and automated traffic law violations, and
    operate an administrative adjudication system. The traffic
    compliance administrator also may make a certified report
    to the Secretary of State under Section 6-306.5.
        (2) A parking, standing, compliance, or automated
    traffic law violation notice that shall specify the date,
    time, and place of violation of a parking, standing,
    compliance, or automated traffic law regulation; the
    particular regulation violated; any requirement to
    complete a traffic education program; the fine and any
    penalty that may be assessed for late payment or failure to
    complete a required traffic education program, or both,
    when so provided by ordinance; the vehicle make and state
    registration number; and the identification number of the
    person issuing the notice. With regard to automated traffic
    law violations, vehicle make shall be specified on the
    automated traffic law violation notice if the make is
    available and readily discernible. With regard to
    municipalities with a population of 1 million or more, it
    shall be grounds for dismissal of a parking violation if
    the state registration number or vehicle make specified is
    incorrect. The violation notice shall state that the
    completion of any required traffic education program, the
    payment of any the indicated fine, and the payment of any
    applicable penalty for late payment or failure to complete
    a required traffic education program, or both, shall
    operate as a final disposition of the violation. The notice
    also shall contain information as to the availability of a
    hearing in which the violation may be contested on its
    merits. The violation notice shall specify the time and
    manner in which a hearing may be had.
        (3) Service of the parking, standing, or compliance
    violation notice by affixing the original or a facsimile of
    the notice to an unlawfully parked vehicle or by handing
    the notice to the operator of a vehicle if he or she is
    present and service of an automated traffic law violation
    notice by mail to the address of the registered owner of
    the cited vehicle as recorded with the Secretary of State
    within 30 days after the Secretary of State notifies the
    municipality or county of the identity of the owner of the
    vehicle, but in no event later than 90 days after the
    violation. A person authorized by ordinance to issue and
    serve parking, standing, and compliance violation notices
    shall certify as to the correctness of the facts entered on
    the violation notice by signing his or her name to the
    notice at the time of service or in the case of a notice
    produced by a computerized device, by signing a single
    certificate to be kept by the traffic compliance
    administrator attesting to the correctness of all notices
    produced by the device while it was under his or her
    control. In the case of an automated traffic law violation,
    the ordinance shall require a determination by a technician
    employed or contracted by the municipality or county that,
    based on inspection of recorded images, the motor vehicle
    was being operated in violation of Section 11-208.6 or a
    local ordinance. If the technician determines that the
    vehicle entered the intersection as part of a funeral
    procession or in order to yield the right-of-way to an
    emergency vehicle, a citation shall not be issued. The
    original or a facsimile of the violation notice or, in the
    case of a notice produced by a computerized device, a
    printed record generated by the device showing the facts
    entered on the notice, shall be retained by the traffic
    compliance administrator, and shall be a record kept in the
    ordinary course of business. A parking, standing,
    compliance, or automated traffic law violation notice
    issued, signed and served in accordance with this Section,
    a copy of the notice, or the computer generated record
    shall be prima facie correct and shall be prima facie
    evidence of the correctness of the facts shown on the
    notice. The notice, copy, or computer generated record
    shall be admissible in any subsequent administrative or
    legal proceedings.
        (4) An opportunity for a hearing for the registered
    owner of the vehicle cited in the parking, standing,
    compliance, or automated traffic law violation notice in
    which the owner may contest the merits of the alleged
    violation, and during which formal or technical rules of
    evidence shall not apply; provided, however, that under
    Section 11-1306 of this Code the lessee of a vehicle cited
    in the violation notice likewise shall be provided an
    opportunity for a hearing of the same kind afforded the
    registered owner. The hearings shall be recorded, and the
    person conducting the hearing on behalf of the traffic
    compliance administrator shall be empowered to administer
    oaths and to secure by subpoena both the attendance and
    testimony of witnesses and the production of relevant books
    and papers. Persons appearing at a hearing under this
    Section may be represented by counsel at their expense. The
    ordinance may also provide for internal administrative
    review following the decision of the hearing officer.
        (5) Service of additional notices, sent by first class
    United States mail, postage prepaid, to the address of the
    registered owner of the cited vehicle as recorded with the
    Secretary of State or, if any notice to that address is
    returned as undeliverable, to the last known address
    recorded in a United States Post Office approved database,
    or, under Section 11-1306 of this Code, to the lessee of
    the cited vehicle at the last address known to the lessor
    of the cited vehicle at the time of lease or, if any notice
    to that address is returned as undeliverable, to the last
    known address recorded in a United States Post Office
    approved database. The service shall be deemed complete as
    of the date of deposit in the United States mail. The
    notices shall be in the following sequence and shall
    include but not be limited to the information specified
    herein:
            (i) A second notice of parking, standing, or
        compliance violation. This notice shall specify the
        date and location of the violation cited in the
        parking, standing, or compliance violation notice, the
        particular regulation violated, the vehicle make and
        state registration number, any requirement to complete
        a traffic education program, the fine and any penalty
        that may be assessed for late payment or failure to
        complete a traffic education program, or both, when so
        provided by ordinance, the availability of a hearing in
        which the violation may be contested on its merits, and
        the time and manner in which the hearing may be had.
        The notice of violation shall also state that failure
        to complete a required traffic education program,
        either to pay the indicated fine and any applicable
        penalty, or to appear at a hearing on the merits in the
        time and manner specified, will result in a final
        determination of violation liability for the cited
        violation in the amount of the fine or penalty
        indicated, and that, upon the occurrence of a final
        determination of violation liability for the failure,
        and the exhaustion of, or failure to exhaust, available
        administrative or judicial procedures for review, any
        incomplete traffic education program or any unpaid
        fine or penalty, or both, will constitute a debt due
        and owing the municipality.
            (ii) A notice of final determination of parking,
        standing, compliance, or automated traffic law
        violation liability. This notice shall be sent
        following a final determination of parking, standing,
        compliance, or automated traffic law violation
        liability and the conclusion of judicial review
        procedures taken under this Section. The notice shall
        state that the incomplete traffic education program or
        the unpaid fine or penalty, or both, is a debt due and
        owing the municipality. The notice shall contain
        warnings that failure to complete any required traffic
        education program or to pay any fine or penalty due and
        owing the municipality, or both, within the time
        specified may result in the municipality's filing of a
        petition in the Circuit Court to have the incomplete
        traffic education program or unpaid fine or penalty, or
        both, rendered a judgment as provided by this Section,
        or may result in suspension of the person's drivers
        license for failure to complete a traffic education
        program or to pay fines or penalties, or both, for 10
        or more parking violations under Section 6-306.5 or 5
        or more automated traffic law violations under Section
        11-208.6.
        (6) A notice Notice of impending drivers license
    suspension. This notice shall be sent to the person liable
    for failure to complete a required traffic education
    program or to pay any fine or penalty that remains due and
    owing, or both, on 10 or more parking violations or 5 or
    more unpaid automated traffic law violations. The notice
    shall state that failure to complete a required traffic
    education program or to pay the fine or penalty owing, or
    both, within 45 days of the notice's date will result in
    the municipality notifying the Secretary of State that the
    person is eligible for initiation of suspension
    proceedings under Section 6-306.5 of this Code. The notice
    shall also state that the person may obtain a photostatic
    copy of an original ticket imposing a fine or penalty by
    sending a self addressed, stamped envelope to the
    municipality along with a request for the photostatic copy.
    The notice of impending drivers license suspension shall be
    sent by first class United States mail, postage prepaid, to
    the address recorded with the Secretary of State or, if any
    notice to that address is returned as undeliverable, to the
    last known address recorded in a United States Post Office
    approved database.
        (7) Final determinations of violation liability. A
    final determination of violation liability shall occur
    following failure to complete the required traffic
    education program or to pay the fine or penalty, or both,
    after a hearing officer's determination of violation
    liability and the exhaustion of or failure to exhaust any
    administrative review procedures provided by ordinance.
    Where a person fails to appear at a hearing to contest the
    alleged violation in the time and manner specified in a
    prior mailed notice, the hearing officer's determination
    of violation liability shall become final: (A) upon denial
    of a timely petition to set aside that determination, or
    (B) upon expiration of the period for filing the petition
    without a filing having been made.
        (8) A petition to set aside a determination of parking,
    standing, compliance, or automated traffic law violation
    liability that may be filed by a person owing an unpaid
    fine or penalty. A petition to set aside a determination of
    liability may also be filed by a person required to
    complete a traffic education program. The petition shall be
    filed with and ruled upon by the traffic compliance
    administrator in the manner and within the time specified
    by ordinance. The grounds for the petition may be limited
    to: (A) the person not having been the owner or lessee of
    the cited vehicle on the date the violation notice was
    issued, (B) the person having already completed the
    required traffic education program or paid the fine or
    penalty, or both, for the violation in question, and (C)
    excusable failure to appear at or request a new date for a
    hearing. With regard to municipalities with a population of
    1 million or more, it shall be grounds for dismissal of a
    parking violation if the state registration number, or
    vehicle make if specified, is incorrect. After the
    determination of parking, standing, compliance, or
    automated traffic law violation liability has been set
    aside upon a showing of just cause, the registered owner
    shall be provided with a hearing on the merits for that
    violation.
        (9) Procedures for non-residents. Procedures by which
    persons who are not residents of the municipality may
    contest the merits of the alleged violation without
    attending a hearing.
        (10) A schedule of civil fines for violations of
    vehicular standing, parking, compliance, or automated
    traffic law regulations enacted by ordinance pursuant to
    this Section, and a schedule of penalties for late payment
    of the fines or failure to complete required traffic
    education programs, provided, however, that the total
    amount of the fine and penalty for any one violation shall
    not exceed $250, except as provided in subsection (c) of
    Section 11-1301.3 of this Code.
        (11) Other provisions as are necessary and proper to
    carry into effect the powers granted and purposes stated in
    this Section.
    (c) Any municipality establishing vehicular standing,
parking, compliance, or automated traffic law regulations
under this Section may also provide by ordinance for a program
of vehicle immobilization for the purpose of facilitating
enforcement of those regulations. The program of vehicle
immobilization shall provide for immobilizing any eligible
vehicle upon the public way by presence of a restraint in a
manner to prevent operation of the vehicle. Any ordinance
establishing a program of vehicle immobilization under this
Section shall provide:
        (1) Criteria for the designation of vehicles eligible
    for immobilization. A vehicle shall be eligible for
    immobilization when the registered owner of the vehicle has
    accumulated the number of incomplete traffic education
    programs or unpaid final determinations of parking,
    standing, compliance, or automated traffic law violation
    liability, or both, as determined by ordinance.
        (2) A notice of impending vehicle immobilization and a
    right to a hearing to challenge the validity of the notice
    by disproving liability for the incomplete traffic
    education programs or unpaid final determinations of
    parking, standing, compliance, or automated traffic law
    violation liability, or both, listed on the notice.
        (3) The right to a prompt hearing after a vehicle has
    been immobilized or subsequently towed without the
    completion of the required traffic education program or
    payment of the outstanding fines and penalties on parking,
    standing, compliance, or automated traffic law violations,
    or both, for which final determinations have been issued.
    An order issued after the hearing is a final administrative
    decision within the meaning of Section 3-101 of the Code of
    Civil Procedure.
        (4) A post immobilization and post-towing notice
    advising the registered owner of the vehicle of the right
    to a hearing to challenge the validity of the impoundment.
    (d) Judicial review of final determinations of parking,
standing, compliance, or automated traffic law violations and
final administrative decisions issued after hearings regarding
vehicle immobilization and impoundment made under this Section
shall be subject to the provisions of the Administrative Review
Law.
    (e) Any fine, penalty, incomplete traffic education
program, or part of any fine or any penalty remaining unpaid
after the exhaustion of, or the failure to exhaust,
administrative remedies created under this Section and the
conclusion of any judicial review procedures shall be a debt
due and owing the municipality and, as such, may be collected
in accordance with applicable law. Completion of any required
traffic education program and payment Payment in full of any
fine or penalty resulting from a standing, parking, compliance,
or automated traffic law violation shall constitute a final
disposition of that violation.
    (f) After the expiration of the period within which
judicial review may be sought for a final determination of
parking, standing, compliance, or automated traffic law
violation, the municipality may commence a proceeding in the
Circuit Court for purposes of obtaining a judgment on the final
determination of violation. Nothing in this Section shall
prevent a municipality from consolidating multiple final
determinations of parking, standing, compliance, or automated
traffic law violations against a person in a proceeding. Upon
commencement of the action, the municipality shall file a
certified copy or record of the final determination of parking,
standing, compliance, or automated traffic law violation,
which shall be accompanied by a certification that recites
facts sufficient to show that the final determination of
violation was issued in accordance with this Section and the
applicable municipal ordinance. Service of the summons and a
copy of the petition may be by any method provided by Section
2-203 of the Code of Civil Procedure or by certified mail,
return receipt requested, provided that the total amount of
fines and penalties for final determinations of parking,
standing, compliance, or automated traffic law violations does
not exceed $2500. If the court is satisfied that the final
determination of parking, standing, compliance, or automated
traffic law violation was entered in accordance with the
requirements of this Section and the applicable municipal
ordinance, and that the registered owner or the lessee, as the
case may be, had an opportunity for an administrative hearing
and for judicial review as provided in this Section, the court
shall render judgment in favor of the municipality and against
the registered owner or the lessee for the amount indicated in
the final determination of parking, standing, compliance, or
automated traffic law violation, plus costs. The judgment shall
have the same effect and may be enforced in the same manner as
other judgments for the recovery of money.
    (g) The fee for participating in a traffic education
program under this Section shall not exceed $25.
    A low-income individual required to complete a traffic
education program under this Section who provides proof of
eligibility for the federal earned income tax credit under
Section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code or the Illinois earned
income tax credit under Section 212 of the Illinois Income Tax
Act shall not be required to pay any fee for participating in a
required traffic education program.
(Source: P.A. 94-294, eff. 1-1-06; 94-795, eff. 5-22-06;
94-930, eff. 6-26-06; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
 
    (625 ILCS 5/11-208.6)
    Sec. 11-208.6. Automated traffic law enforcement system.
    (a) As used in this Section, "automated traffic law
enforcement system" means a device with one or more motor
vehicle sensors working in conjunction with a red light signal
to produce recorded images of motor vehicles entering an
intersection against a red signal indication in violation of
Section 11-306 of this Code or a similar provision of a local
ordinance.
    An automated traffic law enforcement system is a system, in
a municipality or county operated by a governmental agency,
that produces a recorded image of a motor vehicle's violation
of a provision of this Code or a local ordinance and is
designed to obtain a clear recorded image of the vehicle and
the vehicle's license plate. The recorded image must also
display the time, date, and location of the violation.
    (b) As used in this Section, "recorded images" means images
recorded by an automated traffic law enforcement system on:
        (1) 2 or more photographs;
        (2) 2 or more microphotographs;
        (3) 2 or more electronic images; or
        (4) a video recording showing the motor vehicle and, on
    at least one image or portion of the recording, clearly
    identifying the registration plate number of the motor
    vehicle.
    (c) A county or municipality, including a home rule county
or municipality, may not use an automated traffic law
enforcement system to provide recorded images of a motor
vehicle for the purpose of recording its speed. The regulation
of the use of automated traffic law enforcement systems to
record vehicle speeds is an exclusive power and function of the
State. This subsection (c) is a denial and limitation of home
rule powers and functions under subsection (h) of Section 6 of
Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.
    (d) For each violation of a provision of this Code or a
local ordinance recorded by an automatic traffic law
enforcement system, the county or municipality having
jurisdiction shall issue a written notice of the violation to
the registered owner of the vehicle as the alleged violator.
The notice shall be delivered to the registered owner of the
vehicle, by mail, within 30 days after the Secretary of State
notifies the municipality or county of the identity of the
owner of the vehicle, but in no event later than 90 days after
the violation.
    The notice shall include:
        (1) the name and address of the registered owner of the
    vehicle;
        (2) the registration number of the motor vehicle
    involved in the violation;
        (3) the violation charged;
        (4) the location where the violation occurred;
        (5) the date and time of the violation;
        (6) a copy of the recorded images;
        (7) the amount of the civil penalty imposed and the
    requirements of any traffic education program imposed and
    the date by which the civil penalty should be paid and the
    traffic education program should be completed;
        (8) a statement that recorded images are evidence of a
    violation of a red light signal;
        (9) a warning that failure to pay the civil penalty, to
    complete a required traffic education program, or to
    contest liability in a timely manner is an admission of
    liability and may result in a suspension of the driving
    privileges of the registered owner of the vehicle; and
        (10) a statement that the person may elect to proceed
    by:
            (A) paying the fine, completing a required traffic
        education program, or both; or
            (B) challenging the charge in court, by mail, or by
        administrative hearing.
    (e) If a person charged with a traffic violation, as a
result of an automated traffic law enforcement system, does not
pay the fine or complete a required traffic education program,
or both, or successfully contest the civil penalty resulting
from that violation, the Secretary of State shall suspend the
driving privileges of the registered owner of the vehicle under
Section 6-306.5 of this Code for failing to complete a required
traffic education program or to pay any fine or penalty due and
owing, or both, as a result of 5 violations of the automated
traffic law enforcement system.
    (f) Based on inspection of recorded images produced by an
automated traffic law enforcement system, a notice alleging
that the violation occurred shall be evidence of the facts
contained in the notice and admissible in any proceeding
alleging a violation under this Section.
    (g) Recorded images made by an automatic traffic law
enforcement system are confidential and shall be made available
only to the alleged violator and governmental and law
enforcement agencies for purposes of adjudicating a violation
of this Section, for statistical purposes, or for other
governmental purposes. Any recorded image evidencing a
violation of this Section, however, may be admissible in any
proceeding resulting from the issuance of the citation.
    (h) The court or hearing officer may consider in defense of
a violation:
        (1) that the motor vehicle or registration plates of
    the motor vehicle were stolen before the violation occurred
    and not under the control of or in the possession of the
    owner at the time of the violation;
        (2) that the driver of the vehicle passed through the
    intersection when the light was red either (i) in order to
    yield the right-of-way to an emergency vehicle or (ii) as
    part of a funeral procession; and
        (3) any other evidence or issues provided by municipal
    or county ordinance.
    (i) To demonstrate that the motor vehicle or the
registration plates were stolen before the violation occurred
and were not under the control or possession of the owner at
the time of the violation, the owner must submit proof that a
report concerning the stolen motor vehicle or registration
plates was filed with a law enforcement agency in a timely
manner.
    (j) Unless the driver of the motor vehicle received a
Uniform Traffic Citation from a police officer at the time of
the violation, the motor vehicle owner is subject to a civil
penalty not exceeding $100 or the completion of a traffic
education program, or both, plus an additional penalty of not
more than $100 for failure to pay the original penalty or to
complete a required traffic education program, or both, in a
timely manner, if the motor vehicle is recorded by an automated
traffic law enforcement system. A violation for which a civil
penalty is imposed under this Section is not a violation of a
traffic regulation governing the movement of vehicles and may
not be recorded on the driving record of the owner of the
vehicle.
    (j-3) A registered owner who is a holder of a valid
commercial driver's license is not required to complete a
traffic education program.
    (j-5) For purposes of the required traffic education
program only, a registered owner may submit an affidavit to the
court or hearing officer swearing that at the time of the
alleged violation, the vehicle was in the custody and control
of another person. The affidavit must identify the person in
custody and control of the vehicle, including the person's name
and current address. The person in custody and control of the
vehicle at the time of the violation is required to complete
the required traffic education program. If the person in
custody and control of the vehicle at the time of the violation
completes the required traffic education program, the
registered owner of the vehicle is not required to complete a
traffic education program.
    (k) An intersection equipped with an automated traffic law
enforcement system must be posted with a sign visible to
approaching traffic indicating that the intersection is being
monitored by an automated traffic law enforcement system.
    (l) The compensation paid for an automated traffic law
enforcement system must be based on the value of the equipment
or the services provided and may not be based on the number of
traffic citations issued or the revenue generated by the
system.
    (m) This Section applies only to the counties of Cook,
DuPage, Kane, Lake, Madison, McHenry, St. Clair, and Will and
to municipalities located within those counties.
    (n) The fee for participating in a traffic education
program under this Section shall not exceed $25.
    A low-income individual required to complete a traffic
education program under this Section who provides proof of
eligibility for the federal earned income tax credit under
Section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code or the Illinois earned
income tax credit under Section 212 of the Illinois Income Tax
Act shall not be required to pay any fee for participating in a
required traffic education program.
(Source: P.A. 94-795, eff. 5-22-06.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.