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* From the Southern…

In a growing number of cash-strapped Southern Illinois counties, state’s attorney’s offices are entering into contracts with third-party debt collectors to encourage payment of alleged delinquent court fines and fees – sometimes for violations that occurred decades ago.

Alexander County, facing $1.6 million in debt, is the latest to enter into a contract with Credit Collection Partners, which has told the county they could be owed in the neighborhood of $2 million in unpaid court fines and fees dating back to at least 1986, and even further back in some cases.

Since early 2013, that Taylorville-based agency has taken on debt collection services for more than 40 Illinois counties, including in this region, in addition to Alexander: Perry, Johnson, Saline, Franklin, White, Gallatin, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash, Hamilton and Marion counties.

Company representatives defend the practice, and the 30 percent fee they charge as allowed under Illinois law, saying they are helping counties collect money owed to the taxpayer from people who have refused to pay legitimate fines and fees assessed by the court for their offenses, be they traffic, misdemeanors or felonies.

But others are questioning the appropriateness of this company and others collecting debts, on behalf of counties, that are decades old – up to 40 years old in some cases. In the court system, statutes of limitations on civil and criminal proceedings exist for a variety of reasons, including that failure to charge or sue someone within a prescribed time makes it too difficult for the person to defend themselves against stale evidence and failing memories, in addition to a general fairness issue.

Can you imagine trying to prove you’d paid a fine decades ago? At least one woman just went through that with a southern Illinois county. Go read the rest.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 11:25 am

Comments

So someone finally took a page out of the Ferguson/St. Louis County municipals play book. This will end badly. Very very badly.

Comment by Not quite a majority Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 11:28 am
“Can you imagine trying to prove you’d paid a fine decades ago?”

That’s exactly what the debt collection agencies are counting on.

Comment by Father Ted Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 11:29 am
Common practice. It’s been going on for a long time.

Comment by Stones Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 11:32 am
Big Brother strikes again.

Comment by Streator Curmudgeon Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 11:32 am
This should already aha open as part of responsible management of public offices and to be fair to those who allegedly owe these fines. They contact her 22 years later and say the fine has more than tripled? Wow.

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 11:35 am
Some of the search capabilities on Judici.com were free. Interesting to check out- make sure your name isn’t associated with anything it shouldn’t be.

Comment by Anon221 Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 11:45 am
I wouldn’t be surprised if Alexander County was using COBOL back in 1986, with all that data stored on 5.25″ floppy disks.

Comment by Jocko Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 11:54 am
Literally, these sleazy unethical ‘collection’ agencies will work to imprison those that are unable to pay.

We are almost back to the ages of debtors prisons, and it’s sickening.

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/12/143274773/unpaid-bills-land-some-debtors-behind-bars

Comment by How Ironic Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 11:56 am
Who, other than those shaking folks down, would object to a 10 statute of limitations on such matters? I would appreciate any reasonable argument against it.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 12:00 pm
Justice has no pricetag. Costs and fees imposed on people without regard to ability to pay should not be expected to fund the system.

Comment by Independent retired lawyer, journalist Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 12:09 pm
A far better approach: debt amnesty. Voluntarily come in, pay up, have interest and fees waived, then go forth and sin no more. Cuts out the middlemen, too.

Chicago is in a debt amnesty period right now. See “Mayor Emanuel orders six-week amnesty for pre-2012 tickets, debts”, http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/7/71/935380/emanuel-orders-six-week-amnesty-pre-2012-tickets-debts

I’m outta here.

Comment by Third Reading Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 12:10 pm
===I wouldn’t be surprised if Alexander County was using COBOL back in 1986, with all that data stored on 5.25″ floppy disks.

Don’t laugh–COBOL programmers are in high demand to fix legacy systems partially built on it.

Comment by ArchPundit Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 12:12 pm
There are a lot of counties that I can think of that have outsourced collections of fines. IN Rockford, Harris & Harris has an office right in the courthouse. In other counties, when you call the clerk’s office one of the automated prompts deals with notices from their collection agencies.

Comment by The Way I See It Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 12:36 pm
A remarkably feeble thing to do. It is proving a negative from decades ago. The idea that any government is going to comb through their dated files from over seven years ago is pathetic.

Any fine not collected seven years from today, should be considered too old to collect.

Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 12:37 pm
Here’s What Went Wrong in Past when some IL State’s Attorneys used an agency to Collect Bad Checks

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-02-02/news/0102020225_1_accs-check-diversion-programs-county-attorney

Comment by x ace Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 12:38 pm
*a 10 year statute of limitations

Comment by @MisterJayEm Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 12:54 pm
ABA Formal Ethics Opinion 469 November 2014:
A prosecutor who provides official letterhead of the prosecutor’s office to a debt collection company for use by that company to create a letter purporting to come from the prosecutor’s office that implicitly or explicitly threatens prosecution, when no lawyer from the prosecutor’s office reviews the case file to determine whether a crime has been committed and prosecution is warranted or reviews the letter to ensure it complies with the Rules of Professional Conduct, violates Model Rules 8.4(c) and 5.5(a).

Comment by D.P.Gumby Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 12:57 pm
The return of peonage?

http://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/themes/peonage/

Comment by Precinct Captain Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 1:26 pm
Just tell them you have paid the fine and you will see them in court. Most if not all of these collection agencies never take a small amount to court. If they do have your day in court and make them prove the fine was never paid.

Comment by Nieva Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 1:33 pm
===I wouldn’t be surprised if Alexander County was using COBOL back in 1986

I would be. Most small counties I covered at that time were using PAPER. Would not surprise me if Alexander County was using PAPYYRUS.

Comment by Bigtwich Monday, Nov 16, 15 @ 2:12 pm

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