The SAFE-T Act is a landmark criminal justice reform package signed into law in February 2021 (HB 3653). It dramatically expands Illinois residents’ freedom to drive. The bill ends driver’s license suspensions and holds in three new categories: failure to pay automated camera tickets, failure to pay traffic fines, and failure to pay abandoned vehicle fees. These suspensions occur because of motorists’ inability to pay. These traps low-income motorists in debt spirals, while well-off drivers can pay and keep driving. Currently, over 10,000 people have suspensions for camera ticket debt, and almost 350,000 people have holds for traffic ticket debt. This bill removes these suspensions and holds for all currently impacted Illinois drivers and ends future suspensions. These suspensions and holds will be cleared from all Illinois driving records by July 1, 2021.
Curious how your community will be impacted by the SAFE-T Act? Check out our interactive map, which shows driver’s license suspensions across the state. The maps can be overlaid with Senate and House districts, Chicago Ward boundaries, and demographic information, such as racial composition, unemployment rates, and poverty rates. Ultimately, the dashboard shows that zip codes with a higher percentage of residents of color have higher rates of suspensions.
