Hello, Trooper Ness:
I got a ticket on Saturday for "not stopping long enough at a stop sign" - which implies that I had to have stopped, but that's not worth arguing about - it is what it is. The official violation is "Disobeyed Stop Sign". My questions are:
1.) The Cook County Sheriff's officer kept my license. I haven't had a ticket in nearly 16 years and was surprised he had to keep it. Did he have to keep it? It's my only form of photo I.D. and I'm worried about the length of time it's going to take to get back. I've read on some other postings that I shouldn't have had to surrender my license. Can you shed some light/offer advice on this?
2.) On the actual citation, along the left margin are a series of checkboxes for: "Bond Deposited". Nothing was checked. Should he have had to fill this out? This won't void the ticket, by any chance, would it?
Thanks for your time.
Jennifer
Jennifer,
While without being there, I can't know all of the particulars, however I will try to address your questions generally.
FIrst, 625 ILCS 5/11-1204 requires that you come to a complete stop at stop signs either prior to a crosswalk or at a stop line, or if neither, at a point prior to entering the intersection where you have a view of other traffic. There is no set amount of time you have stop, but your car must come to a complete stop, and yield if necessary to other vehicles. In other words, no "rolling slow-downs" are allowed.
On the bond issue, The Supreme Court rules in Illinois currently require officers to post bond for traffic offenses. This can be either your driver's license, a bond card issued by a motor club or insurance company, or a pre-set cash bond. Much discussion is underway on the issue of posting a driver's license, as it has become increasingly important for identification purposes. However, CURRENT law still requires using it for bond as an option. As an alternative ID, you can get an Identification Card from the Illinois Secretary of State for a very small fee, that will work for identification purposes until you get your license returned.
As far as the "Bond" section of your ticket, the Officer should have checked the appropriate box denoting that you posted your Driver's License. You can certainly raise this issue in court, should you decide to contest the citation, but in my experience it won't void the citation. Minor errors can easily be amended by the State's Attorney, and it is likely that the omission was caught when the Officer's supervisor checked the ticket in. Since your license would be attached to the ticket, it would be evident what you used for bond.
Hope that information is helpful.
Randy
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