County Hands Fines Over to Collection Agency

by Mike Bevel, CollectionIndustry.com

Bloomington, Ill., residents who?ve sailed free and clear from paying their court debts and fines are soon to get a reminder of their past-due offenses. The county has hired collection agency Harris & Harris, Ltd., to collect on these debts.

And, thanks to a recent change in Illinois law, the county can pass the collection agency?s fee to the people who owe money.

Before the contract with Chicago-based Harris & Harris Ltd., State?s Attorney Bill Yoder told Pantagraph.com that people appeared countless times before a judge and said they couldn?t pay their fines and costs. People arrested on new charges often had no problem finding $300 to be released from jail, he said, it?s ?like pulling teeth? to collect restitution from the same people.

Referring the cases to a collection agency also frees up prosecutors to work on current court cases, instead of chasing down previously ordered fines, Yoder said.

What has surprised McLean County Circuit Clerk Sandra Parker is how many people chose to pay her office, not the collection agency that contacted them. ?In the first month or so, that money has flowed, more has come in to us directly versus coming through the collection agency,? said Parker. She added, ?Frankly, I don?t care where the payment comes from as long as it gets paid.?

That extra 30 percent, though, has to be paid regardless of how the payment comes in.

?The beauty of this program is that it doesn?t cost the taxpayers anything to administer,? Parker said, because the collection agency?s fee is tacked onto the amount paid by the scofflaw.