SPRINGFIELD –– New, smaller license plate renewal stickers will be
distributed by the Secretary of State’s Office beginning in
January 2001 to those motorists with expiring plates.
"The sticker size was changed to accommodate the new design
plates, which will be distributed for passenger cars later in the
year. We have also incorporated better security measures into
the sticker inventory process, so stickers can be tracked more
easily through the law enforcement LEADS system," said Secretary
of State Jesse White.
The new stickers are being distributed at the beginning of
the calendar year of 2001, meaning some vehicles will receive the
new stickers prior to their turn in the replating cycle. This
includes some passenger cars in the first part of 2001 and all
other vehicles, including B-trucks, which are not being replated
until 2003.
To accommodate the new sticker’s placement on current, old-
design plates, those motorists will receive a blank sticker with
the smaller renewal sticker. The blank sticker must first be
affixed to cover up the old, larger sticker and then the new
renewal sticker should be affixed on top of the right portion of
the blank sticker.
"We are communicating this change because it may be
confusing for some motorists having to affix two stickers instead
of one," explained Secretary White. "The blank sticker is being
applied so law enforcement personnel can make a quicker visual
check that a vehicle is in compliance with the law."
For the first time in the state’s history, stickers will be
individually inventoried and matched with a vehicle owner’s
assigned license plate in the Secretary of State system and in
the LEADS system to fight sticker theft and fraud. The law
enforcement community also consulted the Secretary of State’s
office on the design of the new stickers.
White also announced today that St. Clair Associated
Vocational Enterprises, Inc. (SAVE), a not-for-profit sheltered
care facility serving the developmentally disabled, has been
awarded a contract to produce Illinois license plate renewal
stickers.
Instructions for motorists will be printed on the renewal
information and posted at Secretary of State Drivers facilities.
The 2002 expiration renewal sticker has black numbers on a
white reflective background.
