Most Speeders Get Supervision

The Chicago Tribune published an article today in which they say that an examination of traffic court records reveals that most drivers appearing in court in this area on a speeding ticket received court supervision.  In Cook County, 57% of speeders received court supervision.  The highest percentage of supervision sentences were in Lake County, which gave supervision to 61% of speeders.  Court Supervision allows drivers to keep the tickets from being reported to the Secretary of State and then be reported to the insurance carriers so they can raise insurance premiums.  The insurance companies have long been critical of the use of Court Supervision in Illinois.  This Tribune article follows another article this weekend that examined the use of Court Supervision for drivers caught speeding 100 miles an hour over the speed limit.  What needs to be kept in mind is that there is a huge difference between a regular speeder and someone speeding over 100 miles per hour.  It is the opinion of this author, and traffic court practitioner, that the way Court Supervision is used in our traffic courts is generally a success and works properly.  Giving a judge the discretion, on a case by case, driver by driver, basis to determine when court supervision should be given, rather than applying a cut and paste statutory requirement that does not take the particular case into consideration, is equatable and fair.

To read the Tribune article, click here.

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