Hi my name is Kathy my husband Chris and I have been living in the chicago area for almost three years now. The first time we moved here when we registered our car we only received one license plate and being from Louisiana never thought anything of this. We have not heard anything in the past three years about being required to have a front license plate. We are moving back to Louisiana in three weeks and just today got a $50.00 ticket for not having a front license plate. We looked this law up online because we could not believe that we have gone three years without knowing that this was a requirement and now I can only ponder why we were only given one license plate when we registered our car three years ago if the state requires two. Is there anyway we are not liable for this ticket especially considering our imminent departure?
Thanks for the answer
Kathy, two plates are required on most passenger vehicles in Illinois, and you should have gotten 2 plates when you registered to receive Illinois license plates. The Secretary of State routinely packages 2 plates for cars, pickups, and the like. That said, I'm sorry if that didn't happen in your case. I would report the front plate missing with your local police department, in case it shows up on someone else's vehicle.
It sounds like you may have received a City of Chicago or some other municipal ordinance ticket for no front plate displayed. Otherwise, the State fine for this is $75. Your recourse is to plead not guilty and appear before the hearing officer or Judge, and tell them your story. Most ordinances are pretty black and white, and since you didn't have the plate on, you may be fined anyway. However it is your right to appear and tell the whole story to see if that might persuade the Judge to dismiss the charge. Hope that information is helpful.
Randy
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