Elmhurst, Villa Park Businesses Listed Among Illinois Tollway's 'Super Scofflaws'

The Illinois Tollway began posting the names of toll violators with fines of $1,000 or more on its website Wednesday, and businesses from Elmhurst and Villa Park were included on that list, according to the Illinois Tollway.

All of the 157 violators listed on the website are businesses, and they owe a total of more than $3.68 million. Here is a look at the Elmhurst and Villa Park businesses, their ranking and the amount the state claims is owed, that are included on the Illinois Tollway's "Super Scofflaws" list:

• 46 ABD Tank Pump, of Elmhurst — $22,133.40

• 133 The Private Sewer Water Corp., of Villa Park — $2,149.50

The top overall violator, Landa Transport of Frankfort, owes $214,859, and 74 businesses owe more than $10,000 in fines, according to the Tollway.

The Tollway plans to update the list quarterly, and it has filed lawsuits against the 157 businesses in circuit court.

The list includes:

• 47 businesses that owe less than $5,000.

• 36 that owe from $5,000 to $9,999.

Gov. Pat Quinn signed Senate Bill 1214 on Tuesday, which allows the Illinois Tollway to publish the names of toll violators owing $1,000 or more on the agency’s website.

"Tolls are a significant source of revenue for maintaining and improving our region’s transportation system, and our board understands that every dollar counts,” Tollway Board Chairwoman Paula Wolff said in the news release. “I want to thank members of the General Assembly and the governor for their support of this initiative, which reinforces the tollway’s zero-tolerance policy against toll scofflaws.”

Last September, the Illinois Tollway launched a crackdown on toll violations by filing administrative judgments against accused violators in court. Through this initiative, the tollway has filed 187 administrative judgments and collected nearly $500,000.

“The tollway is committed to using every option available to us to try to collect millions of dollars in unpaid tolls and fines from delinquent drivers,” Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur in the press release. “Anything less would be unfair to the 98 percent of tollway customers who pay their tolls on time.”

Up to this point, the Illinois Tollway has contacted each of those on the list at least nine times and offered them multiple opportunities to enter into a settlement agreement, including the option to use a payment plan to settle their debts, according to the news release.

Overall, the entire process takes from nine months to more than two years, beginning with the time a violator receives the first violation notice from the tollway until the point at which a judgment is filed in court.

• Related: Tollway's Typical Violations Enforcement Timeline

The tollway has also started to work with the Illinois Comptroller’s Office to withhold tax returns from some the agency’s most egregious violators.

Violators should contact the phone number listed on their collection agency notices for more information about how to resolve their debt.

SOURCE: Illinois Tollway press release, Illinois Tollway website,Illinois Tollway Super Scofflaws list