Kane Forest Preserve commission increases ordinance violation fees

The Forest Preserve District of Kane County is increasing fees and the late fines for ordinance violations its police department writes as a way to get more compliance, officials said.

Fees for parking violations increased from $20 to $35 and late fines from $35 to $70, according to the ordinance approved Tuesday by a vote of 20 to 2.

Fees for non-parking ordinance violations are going from $50 to $75 and late fines for those violations will go from $75 to $150, the ordinance states.

Any fees not paid after 60 days results in a mandatory notice to appear at a court date at the police officer’s discretion, the ordinance states.

The District’s fine structure was reevaluated after a survey showed it was “way behind everybody else,” said Mike Gilloffo, director of public safety.

“The other reason for the change we made is to get those fines paid on time and reduce the number of delinquent” citations, Gilloffo said. “Our goal is to get compliance and preserve a family oriented environment.”

Every forest preserve has a list of regulations at kiosks located at the entrance. Some of the regulations are no dogs off a leash, alcohol is not allowed and hours preserves are open, he said.

A regulation people may not know about is nothing can be picked from forest preserve property without a permit, he said.

“Our officers have a lot of discretion,” Gilloffo said. “We try to give warnings if at all possible depending on the severity of the situation.”

T.R. Smith, who represents District 9, voted no because he felt most people are unfamiliar with the rules and may break one without realizing it. He gave an example of an incident he heard about where a couple walking along a forest preserve picked mushrooms and showed a District police officer. The officer gave the couple a ticket, Smith said.

“They were unaware of the regulation,” Smith said.

District police officers issued 33 citations in August, according to a monthly report the department provides to the county board. Twenty-seven were ordinance violations, three were state tickets and three were warning tickets, according to documents.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.