Secretary White Distributes New License Plate Guide To Law Enforcement
Police Agencies Applaud White's Efforts
SPRINGFIELD — Secretary of State Jesse White unveiled a new guide that will help law enforcement identify all types of Illinois license plates.
"Illinois has many different licenses plates to designate vehicle classifications as well as a variety of specialty plates that drivers may choose to raise funds for specific causes," White said. "This guide will give law enforcement officials another tool to help them quickly identify and run license plates."
The Illinois General Assembly creates specialty plates. After the legislation to create a new plate is approved and signed into law by the Governor, the Secretary of State waits for 850 orders before designing and producing the new specialty plate. Illinois currently offers 44 specialty and 18 military license plate types.
In addition, the guide features plate designs for a variety of vehicle types and weight classifications, including farm, public transportation and official plates.
The office continues working to simplify identification of licenses plates for law enforcement officers. In 1999, White initiated an effort to standardize various plate designs and required plates to have full sized characters. White also created a new Temporary Registration Permit (TRP) allowing law enforcement to access vehicle identification information.
"The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police appreciates that Secretary of State Jesse White has published this guide," said president of the Chiefs of Police Ignacio "Joe" Pena. "This is an excellent guide that is very useful to the day- to- day operations of the law enforcement community."
"This guide will certainly assist law enforcement in the performance of their duties and responsibilities," said Greg Sullivan, Executive Director of the Illinois Sheriffs' Association. "Together with the new guide and the commitment by the Secretary in using larger legible numbers and identifiers, the officer on the street and the public have benefited."
The plate guide is double-sided and features small versions of license plates in their various colors. The guide shows pictures of 153 license plates including 13 variations of standard plates, 44 specialty plates, 18 military plates, 37 commercial truck/public transportation plates and 41 official government plates. A flyer will also be included with the guide alerting police to the designs of the Temporary Registration Permit (TRP) and the registration stickers.
Secretary of State Police are sending the guide to law enforcement agencies across the state and nation. The Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS) is reporting that copies of the guide will available and may be downloaded at www.cyberdriveillinois.com.
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