‘Fresh start’ possible for those owing McHenry County court-ordered fines, fees

For the first time, the McHenry County Circuit Clerk’s Office will host an “Amnesty Week,” offering those with unpaid court-ordered fines, fees and traffic tickets a chance to pay off their debt.

The opportunity to get a “fresh start” will be offered Monday through Sept. 16, McHenry County Circuit Clerk Kathy Keefe said.

”While it may be a small step, we hope that providing this service eases a little of the burden that individuals who owe outstanding balances to the 22nd Judicial Circuit may be facing,” Keefe said.

The offer, which runs Monday through Sept. 16, requires that debts are paid off in full and does not include collections’ fees or interest.

A “small portion” of cases that have gone to collections have balances in the “tens of thousands” and included mostly felony cases, said Robin Shetley, chief deputy at the McHenry County circuit clerk’s office.

“Traffic, ordinance and DUI offenses account for more than 75% of the cases with past due balances, and 85% of all cases in collections have a balance of $500 or less,” Shetley said.

The amnesty does not apply to any fines and costs which have already been paid, or any tax refunds that have been applied against what is owed, county officials said.

“We are doing this to give people the opportunity to get current with the court on their past due fines and fees without the additional collection fees and interest, therefore reducing their financial burden,” Shetley said. “There are a variety of reasons for fines and fees not being paid. Those reasons range from people being unable to pay due to not having an income to simply ignoring their court-ordered fines and fees.”

Defense attorney Matthew Haiduk said Tuesday amnesty week is “a good start” but more should be done.

In 2014, Haiduk, along with local defense attorneys Ray Flavin and James Kelly, filed a federal lawsuit against the McHenry County Circuit Clerk’s Office alleging that the fees added – on top of the fines imposed by judges as penalty for the conviction – were unconstitutional.

Though Haiduk’s lawsuit was later dismissed – the judge construed it as a civil attack on a criminal judgement – and the clerk’s fees are still assessed, the defendant is now told in the courtroom by the judge about those added costs. They are also shown all costs on a monitor while still in the courtroom.

“I think every week should be amnesty week,” Haiduk said. “It doesn’t make sense to further punish poor people because they couldn’t pay and didn’t pay on an artificial timeline. I don’t think the clerk’s office should add those fees on anyway. Somebody who can’t afford that initial fine definitely can’t pay the interest and the penalties they lump on there.

“You’ve got court costs set by politicians, fines set by judges who make hundreds of thousands of dollars and all of them are out of touch with what working class people are going through right now.”

Haiduk said he once saw one defendant’s fine of $500 jump to $2,700 with the fees added by the clerk’s office.

The added clerk’s fees are used to recoup the costs of prosecuting someone and to fund government programs, such as children’s advocacy and victim compensation.

Keefe said since 2014, many changes have been made to how court fees are assessed.

She pointed to the Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act, which took effect in July 2019 and “streamlined decades of patchwork add-ons and fees throughout the state’s statutes into one Act,” she said in an email Tuesday. The law was based on recommendations from the bipartisan Statutory Court Fee Task Force, which she served on.

The law standardized court fees into 13 schedules of potential assessments for criminal and traffic offenses, ranging from $2,215 for a felony drug offense to $1,381 for a misdemeanor DUI to $226.00 for a minor traffic offense, she said.

For the first time, Keefe said, people also had a way to request a full or partial waiver of criminal fees based on their inability to pay, similar to the waiver process that had been in place for civil filing fees. It also increased the hourly amount credited for converting fines and fees to public service hours.

Shetley said the circuit clerk’s office plans to make Amnesty Week an annual event each fall.

Those who wish to participate can call the clerk’s office at 815-334-4190 or email CircuitClerk@mchenrycountyil.gov to receive a quote for the amount due in their cases, minus fees and interest.

Payments can be made online at www.mchenrycircuitclerk.org, in person at the Circuit Clerk’s Office between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or mailed to the office at 2200 N. Seminary Ave., Woodstock IL 60098. Payments can be made by cash, personal check, credit or debit card.