Appearing in Traffic Court

If you are required, or wish to appear in court for your traffic citation, carefully check the bottom of the ticket for the date, time and location you are scheduled to appear. If you cannot read the date and/or time, please call the Circuit Clerk at (815) 334-4190 to confirm when you are scheduled. 

Remote appearance by Zoom is available for traffic court, or you may choose to appear in person. Whether you appear remotely or in person, you should plan to arrive to your courtroom early. If appearing in person, arrive 15 minutes before the scheduled start time to get through security and find your courtroom.

When arriving at the courthouse, first find your name on the monitors located inside the main entrance to check your courtroom assignment. The monitors are located to the right of the security checkpoint at the front doors of the building. These monitors alphabetically list all parties scheduled to appear in court that day. Once you find your name, your scheduled courtroom will be listed next to it.

If you plead guilty or are found guilty, the judge will set your fine, but your court costs are determined by state law. Court costs are determined by the Schedules set forth in the Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act (705 ILCS 135/). Minor Traffic offenses will be assessed $226.00 (Schedule 10) in court costs in addition to the fine. Major Traffic offenses will be assessed $325.00 (Schedule 9) in court costs in addition to the court ordered fine. Neither the Judge nor the Circuit Clerk’s office has any control over the amount of court costs.

If you plead guilty or are found guilty, payment of your fines and fees is due in full that day. If you cannot pay your fines and fees in full on the day of sentencing, you will be required to set up a payment plan for completing your sentence. This payment plan will be set up at the payment windows in Room 136.