Stephenson County Circuit Clerk and Court -> Traffic Court


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Traffic Court

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Traffic Court

All traffic citations written in Stephenson County are processed by the Circuit Clerk’s Office. The circuit clerk also processes citations written for ordinance and conservation violations. Citations are received by the clerk and are entered into a computer system with a court date that has been previously specified by the arresting officer. Information on this page includes

Payments
Location and Telephone Numbers
Court Costs and Fines
Court Diversion and Supervision

Payments

Pay by cash, cashier’s check, certified check, or money order. No personal checks are accepted. (Do not send cash through the mail.) Mail payments to

Bonnie K. Curran
Clerk of the Circuit Court
Stephenson County Courthouse
15 North Galena Avenue, 2nd Floor
Freeport, IL 61032

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Traffic Department, call 815-235-8266 and press #1 at the prompt.

Now Available: Pay Traffic Citations Online via E-PAY Or go to www.illinoisepay.com

Traffic Court Location

All traffic hearings are held at the

Stephenson County Courthouse
15 N. Galena Ave.
Freeport, IL 61032
815-235-8266

Court Costs and Fines

The following is a list of total costs for various minor (no court appearance required) traffic violations in Stephenson County and are subject to change without notice:

Speeding 1-20 MPH above limit	$75.00	Improper passing on shoulder	$75.00
Speeding 21-30 MPH above limit	$95.00	Improper turn signal	$75.00
Seat belt violation	$55.00	Failure to reduce speed	$75.00
No valid registration	$75.00	Change lanes without signal	$75.00
Improper traffic lane usage	$75.00	Failure to obey stop sign	$75.00
Disregard traffic control device	$75.00	Defective windshield	$75.00

Note: Payment of these citations alone does not prevent the violation from being reported to the secretary of state. Please refer to Court Diversion and Supervision below for more information.

I received a "need not appear" traffic ticket for $75.00. I pled guilty and paid my fine at the Stephenson County Circuit Clerk's Office (2^nd floor of the courthouse). Who gets the money after that?

The money is forwarded to the appropriate funds listed below:

Arresting agency:	$28.92
State of Illinois:	10.94
Stephenson County:	8.38
The circuit court clerk's General Fund for expenses, including stationery, supplies, postage, printing, office equipment and personnel:	16.76
The circuit court clerk's Document Storage Fund, established by state statute to defray such expenses for court document storage, including hardware, software, research and development costs and personnel:	5.00
The circuit court clerk's Court Automation Fund, established by state statute to defray such expenses for automated court record keeping, including hardware, software, research and development costs and personnel:	5.00
Total:	$75.00

Court Diversion and Supervision

Traffic citations do not always require a court appearance. The officer will indicate on the face of the ticket whether a court appearance is necessary. When a traffic citation is issued and does not require a court appearance, the offender has three options in which to dispose of the ticket:

Option A

Plead guilty and pay the fine in person or by mail without going to court. (No personal checks.)

Option B

Plead not guilty, request a trial and appear in court.

Option C

Plead guilty, receive court supervision and attend traffic school without going to court.

Not everyone is eligible for option C. The offender is only eligible to receive court supervision without going to court if:

The offender has not had court supervision for any violation committed within the previous twelve (12) months from the date of the ticket current ticket.

The offender is willing to plead guilty on the current traffic ticket, request court supervision and pay the prescribed fines, costs and fees for such a violation.

There will be no conviction reported to the secretary of state if court supervision was completed successfully. This will mean that

The offender completed the required four-hour traffic school course, and
The offender does not receive any additional traffic citations during the supervision period as specified on the court supervision order.