SPRINGFIELD ––
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced today plans to eliminate the use of the orange Temporary Registration Permit (TRP) that has been illegally copied and used by individuals to engage in criminal activity.
The new TRP program will give law enforcement the ability to access vehicle information immediately upon issuance through LEADS (Law Enforcement Agency Data System). This is the first of its kind in the nation.
The program features a newly designed TRP, which is a yellow cardboard permit that fits in the rear license plate holder. It replaces the orange permit that is currently affixed to the vehicle's rear window.
"This puts a stop to criminals abusing the old TRPs as a way to travel incognito," Secretary White said. "This new system will give law enforcement the tools they need to protect themselves while approaching a vehicle. I'm proud that Illinois is the first to develop this state-of-the-art system."
The new TRPs include a hologram and expiration date with a clear sticker that makes them difficult to tamper with or re-create. They also contain numbers that law enforcement can track.
"For too long we have been unable to identify vehicles with temporary registration permits. The new TRP program is one of the most important tools ever provided to law enforcement officials in Illinois," said Bill Nolan, president of Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police. "We applaud Secretary White for fixing this system."
Seventy-five auto dealers, currency exchanges remitters and drivers license facilities are included in the first phase of the new program, which began on June 12. The agencies use the new system where they register TRP information with the Secretary of State's office. This information is then entered into LEADS for law enforcement to identify vehicles, similar to the system for license plates.
The Illinois Secretary of State police have found that about 50 percent of those they arrest for counterfeit or altered TRPs result in the recovery of a stolen vehicle, or arrests for other offenses.
According to White, the Secretary of State's office will phase-in the new permits over the next few months and by October 1, the office will no longer issue the orange permit. By January 1, 2002, the orange temporary permits will be obsolete.
The new program requires all 8,000 auto dealers, currency exchanges and remitters to participate in training seminars offered by the Secretary of State's office before they are able to integrate the system to their agency.
Approximately two million TRPs are issued each year. There are 9.2 million vehicles in Illinois.
