Illinois Tollway Fines and License Suspension

[tollwaytrouble]

My question involves vehicle registration or title in the state of: Illinois

In 2008, I purchased a car that was registered in my name in the state of Illinois. Over the following 4 years, my brother used my car for transportation to and from work, driving the Illinois Tollway system frequently. I received 27 tollway violations in that time, but my car had an I-Pass. Through some miscommunication, I assumed the tolls were being paid by my brother, the driver of the vehicle.
I recently received a letter from the State of Illinois saying that they have suspended my license because of these tickets. After the Illinois Tollway Authority confirmed that the I-Pass was defective, they are asserting a debt of over $80,000. I know that I should have been more vigilent about resolving this situtation much earlier, but a few months ago I went in and spoke to a ITA representative. She told me that if I gave her $3,000 that day, they would consider my account settled. Of course, in my naivete, it did not occur to me to get that in writing. I gave her the money, and then received a call later that day saying that I didn't qualify for that particular program, and that I would owe the remainder of the $80,000 by the end of the week to assure that my license was not suspended.
The car's registration was suspended, as was my license. I no longer own the car and no longer drive because of this situation. I do not have access to $80,000, and the ITA seems unwilling to negotiate any kind of settlement or payment plan. I've looked into applying for bankruptcy, but it appears that these fines qualify as a non-dischargable debt. Do I have any other options in this situation? Would retaining an attorney be beneficial? If so, what kind of lawyer?

This situation has put my whole life on hold, and I'm desperate for any advice anyone can offer. Thank you for your time, and thank you in advance for your advice.

[Mr. Knowitall]

If I am to read between the lines here, you purchased a car that included an I-Pass device, but you didn't register or pay for the device. You are now being assessed fines of @70 per offense, multiplied by the huge number of times your brother used the device? The $80K didn't come from 27 unpaid tickets.

[tollwaytrouble]

If I am to read between the lines here, you purchased a car that included an I-Pass device, but you didn't register or pay for the device. You are now being assessed fines of @70 per offense, multiplied by the huge number of times your brother used the device? The $80K didn't come from 27 unpaid tickets.

Not quite... the car did not come with a I-Pass; I bought one at Jewel and registered it to my brother's credit card after the first ticket. The I-Pass continued to remove money from the account, but they were still ticketing the car. The Tollway Authority confirmed that there was something wrong with the I-Pass, but said that because I didn't address the issue in the 7-day window the state gives for contesting tickets, there was nothing she could do about it.
The fines started at $70 a ticket, but escalated because I foolishly ignored them. They are now hundreds of dollars a piece. The $80,000 includes the suspension of my car's registration and license, and what the woman at the Tollway Authority said it would probably cost to resolve both suspensions and the tickets. According to the Tollway Authority, there were 27 tickets that were still "resolvable" and others (she couldn't tell how many, but assumed there were between 10-15) that had been sent to a collection agency and need to be delt with seperately. She also said there were fees and fines associated with the tickets' processing. In total, the state is demanding $80,000 for the whole debacle.

[Mr. Knowitall]

You knew that there was a problem with the I-Pass, but are choosing not to tell us about the problem or why you did not make sure that it was cleared up. You knew that you had a serious, ongoing problem as you kept getting (and ignoring) tickets. Now, having gone four years without bothering to fix the problem with the I-Pass or to paying a single ticket, you have hundreds of tickets with fines of up to several hundred dollars a ticket? You haven't given us any information to work with, in relation to possible defenses.

[tollwaytrouble]

I'm not being intentionally evasive, or trying to hide the truth... clearly I made some huge mistakes in handling this, and I'm not denying that. I've given as much and as accurate information as I feel comfortable with giving on the internet, and I don't appreicate your condesending and accusitory tone. If you choose not to believe me, that's fine, but please don't post on my thread if you aren't interested in helping me. I'm not looking for a lecture or someone to tell me that it's all going to be ok. I came on here hoping for some advice on how to handle this. I have never been in any kind of legal trouble before, and I have no idea where to start.

I was in college when all this happened, and wasn't paying attention. That's my fault, and I own my responsibility in that. I'm not asking for a rally cry about the big, bad government or for someone to say it's not my responsibility. I know it's my fault, and that it's now my problem. All I'm asking for is some advice from someone who knows more about this kind of law than I do.

For anyone interested in helping me... is getting a lawyer a good idea? If so, what kind of lawyer would handle something like this?

[Mr. Knowitall]

If you're not comfortable enough sharing enough information that we can help you, you will need to retain a lawyer to advise you.

I don't actually care if you find it "accusatory" when people figure out that you're not explaining what actually happened. As it apparently needs to be explained, when you give a misleading version of events you end up wither leaving us unable to help you or, upon your disclosure of some of the information that you intentionally omitted, finding that we wasted our time trying to answer your question based upon partial or misleading facts.