Q: I received a ticket for a do not turn left sign in Riverdale IL. What is the fine?

A: Hello Asker,

Thank you for posting your question. Unfortunately, it is difficult to give exact specifics as there is a lack of information here. What I can say is that fine payments depend on three factors: whether you go to court or mail the ticket in, whether you receive supervision, and how bad your record is.

If you mail your ticket in, the amounts described on the back of the ticket will be all that is due. The rates are slightly higher for court supervision requests than for conviction requests. Also, because it is a request, court supervision is not guaranteed by mail. In practice, most prosecutors will automatically reject court supervision by mail requests for defendants who have had tickets in the previous 12 months. As for the specific risks of being denied court supervision, you should consider consulting an attorney who practices traffic law. Contrarily, if you appear in court, you will pay more because of court costs but get more certainty as to the result. In Cook County, a petty traffic conviction carries $159 in court costs while supervision carries $194 in court costs. In addition, there may be a fine ranging from $0 to ~$150. In practice, this tends to be closer to $50. If you have a bad record, the fine may be higher ($150-200).

Lastly, if you miss court, you may be found guilty ex parte and be sentenced to a maximum for petty offenses of $1,000 so make sure you attend any court dates.

My recommendation would be to at least take the time to call a lawyer for a phone consultation to assess the risk of conviction and suspension if there is any so as to minimize the harm this ticket may pose.

Hope that helps and let me know if you have further questions!

Sincerely,

Jason A. Wilkins

Traffic Attorney

(630) 445-2293