Kelly
Guilty pleas and fine payments for St. Clair County traffic tickets are now accepted online through the Circuit Clerk's website.
St. Clair County Circuit Clerk Brendan Kelly said the program is a pilot initiative approved by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Supreme Court, and the fourth county in the state to implement a paperless online guilty plea system.
Kelly said that other counties accept a variety of payments online, but still require a signed paper guilty plea and ticket to be mailed in separately.
With St. Clair County's e-guilty initiative, the process is completed online, according to a press release issued by the clerk's office.
The program was launched July 15.
The online process payment works with the Illinois Treasurer's E-Pay system and information is protected through several layers of security, according to the clerk's office.
If a violation requires a court appearance, an online plea of guilty is not an option.
The system also allows defendants to make credit card payments towards outstanding fines they owe to the court on other traffic, misdemeanor, and felony cases.
Defendants can also pay delinquent probation fees using a credit card with this online program.