John Owens (left) waits in line to pay traffic fines totaling $160 dollars Friday on the first floor of the Winnebago County Courthouse in downtown Rockford.
Published:
September
18,
2006
Local
News:
Winnebago
County
County's
ability
to
collect
on
unpaid
fines
in
question
ROCKFORD
— Do
the
crime,
pay
the
fine.
That�s
how
it's
supposed
to
work,
right?
Not
in
Winnebago
County,
which
has
slapped
offenders
with
more
than
$14
million
in
fines
since
1990
but
has
collected
only
one-third
of
those
charges.
The
county
employs
eight
people
in
the
state's
attorney�s
office
who
work
with
debtors
to
make
good
on
their
unpaid
fines.
Some
of
the
debtors
are
scofflaws
who
must
be
tracked
down
and
nagged
to
pay
up.
Others
are
jobless
or
living
on
fixed
incomes
and
need
a
payment
plan
to
wipe
out
their
fine.
It's
squeezing
blood
out
of
the
proverbial
turnip,Winnebago
County
State's
Attorney
Paul
Logli
said.
But
believe
me,
without
this
unit,
we
wouldn't
be
collecting
anywhere
near
the
fines
we're
getting
now.
The
collection
rates
look
dismal
from
year
to
year,
but
progress
is
made
over
time,
Logli
said.
The
county's
collection
rate,
which
was
33
percent
in
2005,
stood
at
24
percent
in
2004.
But
thats
not
efficient
enough
for
some.
Several
County
Board
members
don't
think
Logli's
Financial
Compliance
Unit
is
doing
enough.
The
unit
would
cost
taxpayers
$483,278,
under
the
proposed
2007
budget
that
board
members
will
approve
in
two
weeks.
Officials
estimate
the
unit
will
generate
only
$190,000
in
2007
from
fees
that
Rockford
and
other
towns
pay
for
the
county's
collection
service.
Yes,
they're
collecting
money,
and
it's
sort
of
working,
but
what
about
the
guy
who
never
pays
his
fine,
said
board
member
Chris
Johnson,
R-14.
I
don't
think
the
results
are
as
good
as
they
could
be.
Needs
to
prove
itself
Johnson
said
he
and
other
board
members
discussed
scrapping
the
county's
collection
agency
until
Logli
told
them
that
the
county
will
hire
two
private
collection
firms
this
year
to
go
after
the
most
delinquent
debtors.
Johnson
now
expects
board
members
will
approve
the
budget
and
give
the
county
collection
agency
more
time
to
prove
itself.
A
state
law
approved
this
year
allows
private
debt
collectors
to
assign
service
fees
on
top
of
court-imposed
fines
that
local
governments
collect.
Under
the
new
rule,
a
DUI
offender
faced
with
a
$1,000
fine
could
pay
up
to
$1,500,
Logli
said.
But
if
someone
owing
a
$1,000
fine
can't
pay,
what
incentive
does
he
or
she
have
to
fork
over
$1,500?
At
some
point
you
have
to
ask
yourself:
Are
we
not
just
pushing
more
and
more
people
to
the
financial
brink?
said
Patrick
Hayes,
legal
director
for
the
city
of
Rockford.
It's
just
silliness.
They're
not
paying
what's
on
the
books,
and
they're
not
going
to
pay
if
you
multiply
that
fine
by
one,
two
or
three.
Rockford
signed
a
debt-collection
contract
with
the
county
in
2000.
Since
then,
the
county
has
collected
30
percent
of
the
city's
$40.4
million
in
outstanding
fines.
The
collection
rate
stood
at
25
percent
two
years
ago.
Rockford
isn't
threatening
to
pull
out
of
the
county's
Financial
Compliance
Unit.
Other
communities
aren't
either,
although
nobody's
happy
with
the
rate
of
collection,
Hayes
said.
Easy
to
avoid
fines
Part
of
the
problem
is
that
it's
easy
to
be a
scofflaw.
The
second
floor
of
the
courthouse
houses
traffic
and
DUI
court,
where
many
fines
are
imposed.
If
offenders
can't
pay,
the
judge
orders
them
to
leave
the
courtroom
and
visit
the
Financial
Compliance
Unit
office
across
the
hall.
A
lot
of
people
bolt
from
the
courtroom
and
make
a
quick
escape.
We
don't
have
any
staff
assigned
to
make
sure
that
the
guy
physically
walks
across
the
hall
to
our
office,
said
Bill
Henbest,
who
heads
up
the
county's
collection
unit.
The
judge
certainly
doesn't
want
the
bailiff
leaving
the
courtroom
unsecured.
A
lot
of
people
just
slip
out
to
the
parking
lot.
County
Board
member
George
Anne
Duckett,
D-12,
believes
the
county
should
dissolve
the
Financial
Compliance
Unit
and
hire
a
private
collector.
All
the
hospitals
do
it,
Duckett
said.
All
the
utility
companies
do
it.
Everybody
knows
that
when
you
go
to
the
hospital
or
the
clinic,
if
you
don't
pay
your
bill
they'll
be
calling
you
and
calling
you
and
they
won't
stop.
I
think
we're
too
easy
on
people.
Winnebago
County
tacks
a 10
percent
fee
on
every
fine
it
collects
for
Rockford,
Loves
Park,
Machesney
Park
and
other
municipal
and
state
government
agencies
it
serves.
Hiring
a
private
agency
wouldn't't
come
cheaply,
Henbest
said.
The
Internal
Revenue
Service,
for
instance,
recently
turned
over
data
on
12,500
taxpayers
—
each
of
whom
owes
$25,000
or
less
in
back
taxes
— to
three
private
collection
agencies
that
will
collect
up
to
24
cents
on
the
dollar.
I
think
a 10
percent
contingent
fee
is a
pretty
sweet
deal,
said
Jim
Cox
of
United
Credit
Service,
a
private
collection
agency
that
serves
Wisconsin
and
Illinois.
Your
collection
rate
really
depends
on
the
clientele
you're
collecting
from,
Cox
said.
It
sounds
like
the
county
is
dealing
with
a
large
group
of
people
that
may
be
unemployed
or
making
minimum
wage
or
they're
sitting
in
jail.
There's
really
nothing
you
can
do
to
motivate
those
people.
The
fact
is,
you
don't
collect
100
percent
of
any
debt.
Fees
vs.
service
Account
Recovery
Services
of
Rockford
collects
unpaid
medical
accounts,
bad
checks
and
unpaid
retail
bills
for
its
clients.
A
30-percent
collection
fee
is
normal
in
most
instances,
owner
Karl
Brolund
said.
Fees
can
vary,
howeverer,
depending
on
the
volume
of
accounts
a
client
offers.
A
private
collector
might
charge
10
percent,
but
you
have
to
ask
what
level
of
service
they're
going
to
provide,
Brolund
said.
Maybe
they'll
only
send
out
two
or
three
letters
and
that's
it.
You
might
find
it
better
to
hire
a
company
for
a
higher
fee.
It
might
be
better
to
recover
50
percent
or
60
percent
of
your
accounts
with
a 20
percent
fee
versus
recovering
30
percent
of
your
accounts
with
a 10
percent
fee.
Loves
Park
officials
received
the
county's
latest
collection
data
last
week.
Officials
aren't�t
sure
whether
the
county�s
system
is
the
best
system
for
Loves
Park,
said
Gino
Galluzzo,
an
attorney
with
Nicolosi
&
Associates,
which
represents
Loves
Park.
All
of
the
communities
know
there's
problems
with
the
county's
collection
rates,
and
there's
probably
some
better
way
to
do
things.
The
question
is,
could
Loves
Park
do
it
cheaper
and
better
than
the
county?
We
don't
yet
know
that
answer.
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an expert in the field of Personal Real Estate
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Robert Paisola is a Professional International
Seminar Speaker in the Areas of Real Estate
Investing, Tax Lien Investing, Rental Property
Management, Real Estate Coach and Mentor
Training and Business Management. He has served
companies throughout the world.
Robert Paisola is an international
motivational speaker, trainer and author. He is
an expert in the field of Personal Real Estate
Investor Training. He is a professional speaker
who has been featured on CNN, CNNFN, and the
Wall Street Journal. He can answer your
questions on the "Basics of the Real Estate
Investing Business" to detailed issues regarding
your specific transactions. Life Experience
Robert Paisola is a Professional International
Seminar Speaker in the Areas of Real Estate
Investing, Tax Lien Investing, Rental Property
Management, Real Estate Coach and Mentor
Training and Business Management. He has served
companies throughout the world.