Due to funds provided through the stopgap budget, the Illinois secretary of state’s office will resume mailing vehicle-registration-renewal reminders in August.

Budget gridlock in Springfield caused the Illinois secretary of state’s office to suspend mailing vehicle-registration-renewal reminders in October 2015; as a result, the state took in $5.24 million more in fees for late license-plate renewal between January and June 21, 2016, than it did during the same period in 2015.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is again mailing notices of vehicle-emissions-testing requirements to vehicle owners, and effective June 1, the Illinois secretary of state has resumed requiring certain drivers to pass emissions tests prior to renewing their license plates. Drivers scrambling to comply by the secretary of state’s June 1 effective date caused headline-making traffic jams throughout Chicago and its suburbs.

The secretary of state’s office has announced it will temporarily allow drivers to renew their vehicle registrations without first passing emissions tests.

Budget gridlock in Springfield has caused the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to stop mailing notices of vehicle-emissions-test requirements to vehicle owners.