LINCOLN SQUARE — When it comes to emissions testing, motorists can breathe a little easier — testing reminders are back in the mail.
After suspending emissions notices earlier this year in order to save money on postage, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that testing contractor Applus Technologies would pick up the tab for the mailers.
The first motorists hit by the suspension back in March will be among the first to receive retroactive notices, which began mailing April 6.
License plate sticker renewals are typically dependent on an up-to-date emissions test. In the absence of testing reminders, Secretary of State Jesse White had been cutting motorists some slack and issuing the stickers regardless of emissions status.
Now that the notices have resumed, normal sticker renewal practices will be enforced effective June 1.
White's office still can't afford stamps for license plate renewal reminders, which haven't been mailed since last fall.
Thousands of Chicagoans have been socked with tickets for expired license plates ever since the state stopped mailing the renewal notices.
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