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Updated: 1:34 PM Feb 7, 2012
Winnebago County Collection Chaos: Old Fines Come Back to Haunt
Speeding tickets, parking tickets, and other fines may be coming back to haunt you -- even if you already paid what you owed. Winnebago County collected $250,000 in unpaid fines in January alone.
Posted: 10:42 PM Feb 6, 2012Reporter: Meghan Dwyer Email Address: mdwyer@wifr.com |
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9 Comments 
Speeding tickets, parking tickets, and other fines may be coming back to haunt you -- even if you already paid what you owed.
Winnebago County recently hired a new collections firm called Harris and Harris Ltd. out of Chicago. Since the last week of December, the firm has managed to collect more than $250,000 in unpaid fines and fees owed to the county. It expects to collect $7.7 million by the end of this year. Two of the firm's employees are now working full-time in Winnebago County.
But some people, like Katelynn Sands and Nick Thunberg of Machesney Park, say they already paid. Both have received phone calls and letters from the new collection agency. One for a reckless driving offense and the other for underage drinking. Both were fines dating back to 2007 -- when they were only 17.
Sands and Thornberg say they already paid their debts in cash and don't have receipts to prove it.
"I've already paid it. It's already done and dealt with. I'm not gonna pay twice," Thornberg says.
"Why are they coming after me for something that happened, what, five years ago?" asks Sands.
Because Winnebago County desperately needs the money. It's owed millions.
But the County says if you've already paid - you shouldn't have to pay again.
"We'll check it out it was a mistake we'll say hey it's taken care of don't worry about it. It's not intentional," says Winnebago County Chairman Scott Christiansen. He explains that when the Circuit Court started putting paper records into the computer some cases may have fallen through the cracks.
"We converted some 1.8 million cases."
Not knowing that Katelynn set up a payment plan with the collections firm. She agreed to pay hundreds of dollars she didn't owe.
If this has happened to you -- and you already paid the fine once -- you should call the Winnebago County Clerk's Office or the collection agency and explain your situation. Make sure you get everything in writing because the collection firm is taking people to court and there's a possibility a financial compliance warrant could be issued for unpaid fines.
Latest Comments
These idiots sent me two love letters also! they said I didnt pay 2 fines dating back to 1999 and 2000 for $1000 after interest... If I didnt pay my driving after revocation ticket I would have never been reinstated! I hope somebody sues these morons!!!
You know if you go into the clerks office with your complaints, the people who have actually paid their fines previously are having them removed from collection. Not everyone has paid their fine. The majority of people receiving letters actually owe their fines. There is no statute of limitations in regards to collecting fines. This is actually a great way to get people to come revitalize downtown Rockford.
I were any of you that got a letter saying you owe, I would get a class action suit going against the collection firm, and if need be, include the county. Harlem School District did the same to me one year, but I had the cancelled check. Not the same here, but if you don't pay fines to the court, bad things happen right away. Not 12 years later. This is crazy.
