CHICAGO — A handful of new state laws will make it easier on drivers cited for speeding and traffic violations and allow higher speeds on the tollways and perhaps Chicago expressways in the near future.
Here are a few of the changes to driving laws that will impact Chicago motorists:
Driver's Keep Their License With New "Sign & Drive" Law
Drivers know the drill.
Getting pulled over and ticketed for speeding or other minor traffic infractions meant giving Officer Friendly a driver's license as bond.
But not anymore.
The new "Sign and Drive" law lets motorists issued a traffic violation by a law enforcement officer to keep their driver's license as long as they sign a statement promising to show up to the assigned court date or pay the fine.
“A driver’s license is an important form of identification, and without it many residents may run into problems during everyday situations when a valid ID is required,” outgoing Gov. Pat Quinn said back in August when he signed the bill into law. “This common sense legislation will allow law enforcement officials to continue doing their jobs while letting motorists hang onto a vital piece of identification. ‘Sign and Drive’ will help ensure motorists comply with the law and keep traffic moving on our streets.”
However, drivers who blow off their court date face the possibility of having their driver's license suspended by the Secretary of State.
There are only two exceptions under the law: Drivers arrested for DUI or drag racing will still have to surrender their license.
70 mph the new speed limit?
There was a little confusion last year with a law that was supposed to bump up the speed limit on all expressways — including in and around Chicago.
Quinn said the law only applied to expressways outside urban areas and increased speed limits to 70 mph on expressways in rural areas of the state.
But the bill's sponsor, Sen. Jim Oberweis (R-Sugar Grove), said it was supposed to apply to all expressways, including the Illinois Tollway and the Dan Ryan, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Edens and Stevenson expressways.
Oberweis got a clarification of the law passed through both houses in overwhelming numbers later in the year, but that bill was vetoed by Quinn.
In December, Quinn's veto was overridden by the General Assembly and became law.
But according to Tollway authorities, it still might take a while before speed limits can be raised.
"In order to raise the speed limit, the Tollway must first conduct traffic engineering studies, which are based on operating data including the length of the highway segment, the prevailing speed, accident rates, the presence of interchanges, oases and weigh stations, the volume of traffic and traffic congestion," Dan Rozek, a spokesman for the Tollway, explained in an e-mail.
Rozek says any speed increases would also still need to be approved by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Trucks to 60 mph
Cars are not the only vehicles that will soon be going faster.
A change in state law allows for trucks and other large vehicles to travel a bit faster with speed limits up to 60 mph on most interstate highways, and 55 mph on other roads in Cook County and collar counties.
Procrastinating Drivers Get Pass on Expired License Plate Stickers
Another new law allows motorists who put off renewing their license plates to drive in a vehicle with an expired sticker, as long as they have proof (like a receipt) that they renewed their registration before it expired.
For example, if a vehicle owner renews online right before the expiration date, it may take some time for their registration sticker to arrive in the mail. The receipt of the transaction will allow them to drive on the expired sticker.
This new law will also give Chicago drivers issued a parking ticket for this offense the ability to use their paid receipt as grounds to dismiss the violation if they choose to contest the citation at a hearing or by mail.
Here's a complete list of all new Illinois state laws for 2015.
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