SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – If you plan to go out Black Friday shopping, and you have a disability parking placard you’re not supposed to, law enforcement will be watching.
Secretary of State Police will be out attempting to catch those illegally using the placards Friday at malls throughout the state, including in Peoria.
“This is something that Secretary of State Jesse White has been doing…the 15th year that he’s been alerting the police to patrol malls throughout the State of Illinois, and to be sure that those disability parking spaces are available for those people who truly need them,” said Beth Kaufman, spokesperson.
Kaufman says anyone caught misusing a placard will get a $600 fine, and will have their drivers license suspended for six months.
“Most of the time, they receive the Misuse of a Placard — so, using someone else’s placard, grandmother’s placard, et cetera. That seems to be the one (motorists) get most of the time,” said Kaufman.
In addition to Peoria’s malls, ones in Chicago, Fairview Heights, Peoria, Rockford, Schaumburg, and Springfield are being targeted on Black Friday. Other malls and shopping centers will be targeted the rest of the holiday season.
