Tinley Park Could Crack Down on Sticker Sneaks

Trying to sneak by without buying the Tinley Park vehicle sticker for your car or truck?

You might save $25 for a sticker but find yourself in a world of fines under a new plan to crack down on Tinley's stickerless.

During Tuesday night's village board Committee of the Whole meeting, Village Clerk Patrick Rea said Tinley is tracking down residents who didn't buy the vehicle stickers required for all vehicles registered here.

"Almost every other day we get a letter from someone who did pay their 25 (dollars), taking exception with their neighbors who haven't," Rea said. "They're not hesitant – they'll write their neighbors' names down."

Rea said the city wouldn't be relying on these angry informants, but would rather go through more official channels to determine what vehicles are registered in Tinley Park (and should have that Tinley Park sticker).

"We're doing a very thorough check with the secretary of state's office," Rea said.

After bringing in about $748,000 a year for the previous two years, money from the sticker program dropped to $735,000 last fiscal year.

However, more people bought the stickers last year than either of the prior years – 33,644 to be exact. That's a jump of nearly 1,000 stickers over the year before and a jump of a couple hundred from the year before that.

Rea said age and smaller cars are the main reasons the village is selling more stickers and making less money.

Under the current rules, a truck weighing more than a ton will need a $55 ticket; $35 for a truck one ton or lighter. But people are choosing smaller cars to ease gas costs, meaning they're only paying $25 for a passenger vehicle ticket.

Tinley's aging population plays into this too. With the village's senior discount, the cost of a sticker plummets from $25 to $1.50.