I would like Riverside residents to know my experience dealing with the village relating to car sticker fees. Last summer, we turned title of our car over to my son who has been active duty in the Navy for five years.
In June 2009, he traveled to Illinois to get the car. He chose to buy Illinois plates and used our address when applying for them for two reasons. First, he had not yet secured an apartment in Charleston, S.C., and because he uses our address as his domicile. Though he used his domicile address in Illinois when registering his license plates, at no time in the past five years has he lived in Illinois.
When I was notified by the village that I would have to buy a Riverside sticker for that car, I explained to them that we no longer owned that car. I showed them a copy of my son’s title proving that I did not own it, and offered to show them a copy of my son’s orders showing that he now is stationed on the East Coast.
The clerks told me that my son still had to buy a sticker and threatened to turn the account over to a bill collector if someone did not pay the fee. I sent a request to Mike Gorman, president of Riverside, asking for a waiver since my son will never live in Illinois, because he is an active duty submarine officer in the Navy.
Mr. Gorman failed to respond to my request. I paid that fee in my son’s name after being threatened with bill collectors, even though common sense dictated it was not appropriate. Is Riverside so desperate for funds that they resort to extorting money from someone residing out of state?
Pam Simmons
Riverside