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April 19, 2007

Elizabeth Kaufman:312-814-8301

Jesse White's Legislation To Criminally Charge People Falsely Claiming Military Service or Other Information to Obtain License Plates Passes the House of Representatives

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White's legislation making it a crime to falsify one's military service in order to receive special license plates was approved by the House of Representatives.

Under White's proposal (HB-362) people who falsely claim to be military service personnel or falsely claim to have received military honors in order to receive a military license plate will face a Class A misdemeanor - punishable by up to one year in jail and up to $2,500 in fines - the minimum fine being $1,000.

"Our military service men and women are heroes who put their lives on the line for our country," White said. "For someone to lie about either serving or receiving honors is offensive and disrespectful. This legislation says we will not stand for this deceit."

The funds collected from the fines will be deposited into the Illinois Military Family Relief Fund.

Currently the license plates that are available to service personnel include Disabled Veterans, POW, National Guard, Armed Forces Reserves, Purple Heart, Retired Armed Forces, Pearl Harbor and Gold Star. There is no extra charge for a vanity or personalized plate in these categories.

In addition, people who provide false information on their vehicle title or registration in order to obtain a license plate will also face a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum $500 fine.

The measure will now move to the full Illinois Senate for its consideration.