This section contains helpful information to assist persons who have received traffic tickets in Cook County. Explanations on traffic court procedures and policies, the rights of all persons in traffic violations cases and possible penalties for traffic violations are presented. Other important topics covered include reinstating driving privileges in DUI cases and in other instances.

PLEASE NOTE:

This section DOES NOT contain information on tickets issued for parking violations, red light camera violations and most vehicle equipment violations. To adjudicate cases related to those violations, many municipalities have established administrative hearing programs such as the City of Chicago's Department of Administrative Hearings. If you should receive a citation or violation notice for these types of violations, you are urged to read the instructions accompanying the notice before assuming you must come to traffic court to resolve the matter. The rights, procedures and policies in those cases are substantially different from those that apply in traffic court.

The judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County encourage all drivers to:

ALWAYS BUCKLE UP RESTRAIN ALL INFANTS AND CHILDREN REMIND ALL PASSENGERS TO BUCKLE UP DRIVE SOBER AND AWAKE OBEY SPEED LIMITS DRIVE DEFENSIVELY YIELD TO EMERGENCY VEHICLES