$872 for 60MPH in a 45MPH ("Construction Zone" I-57 Mile Marker 18 (under bridge) Mound County, Illinois)
I was just here on the 18th of February for my court appearance along with 200+ other people who were there for the same citation "speeding in a construction zone" I got zapped on my birthday "the 10th of Jan" while heading to Arkansas with my wife for a weekend getaway in the Ozarks. We were matching the flow of traffic with a semi truck in a 45MPH one lane barrel zone and got wrote up for 60MPH. I honestly wasn't looking at my gauges since I had already slowed down and was in pace at a safe distance with the semi in front, but can honestly say if I was pushing 55MPH I'd be surprised. My eyes were up and looking around trying to figure out what was going on because there were cops on both sides of the highway with their lights on and car pulled over in front of them, (right before under the bridge at mile marker 18) I thought there was a bad wreck or something, and before I knew it a cop sped out from behind the barrels and had me pulled over and let go within 5-8 mins, he talked liked he was on a script, didn't really care about my insurance handed me a ticket and that was that. Come to find out after one Google search with the help of my wife this county has this construction zone going for over 10 years and their are 1000's are crazy reviews online that sound absurd about this place but I can tell you after going through this it is all very true and real-This county "legally" sets up a rigged speed trap Construction zone on I-57 with minimal signage when their cops are working it the hardest to put the odds in their favor. They will give a ticket for 1 MPH over the limit or even just make up a speed, once pulled over you will be issued a mandatory court appearance citation with no option to pay online-But of course you can hire a local lawyer who is in on their game to represent you for a good healthy fee in hopes of turning your "moving violation" into a "parking ticket" to stay off your record. The moral of the story is this speed trap is their biggest income generator for their county. They have to hit certain numbers each year to secure their budget from "The Great State Of Illinois". On my court appearance there were people from literally all over the country there, driving 10 plus hours in some cases. No discrimination, young, old, all ethnicities and income classes, they will bend over anyone to hit their numbers. Seems like they change most of the citations automatically to a "none moving violation" for about $125 bucks- The judge even said publicly "The Great State Of Illinois Doesn't Want To Ruin Your Record, Just To Take Your Money" Which confirmed my research on their county. Some people were going out of there with upwards of $1200 plus tickets. I'm all for making a lot of money, but not ever when you put profit in front of people. I feel bad in a way for this place-You drive around and look at the used-to-be-cute little town of Pulaski with its old victorian homes and building is disrepair, its pot holed streets, and run down apartments and modular homes scattered about now. It used to be a place with good character and vibes now with this leadership its under you drive in thinking you might be entering a third world country as you look around. It still has potential I think with a little elbow grease and a fresh perspective I'm sure some businesses could be brought or revitalized in that would boost the moral and economy! The highway is right there, the river with a loading dock for barges is there, farming fields nearby-They can do it, there is hope! Come on Pulaski what do you say, convert that speed trap energy into something that adds real value. From the look on the cops faces I saw around that court house they all hate their jobs anyway-and when I was driving back through the speed trap on the way home to Indiana (I was going extra super slow) There was only one cop in the zone- sitting in his car in the traffic cones seat laid back NAPPING. Must not of had a quota on court day.. -Take care

I know places make revenue from tickets but it's at the point of extortion, it's hard to reach people when trying to pay. I'll be avoiding the whole county from now on and go around it when leaving state.

I've called for weeks to try to reach someone regarding a speeding ticket we received while travelling across the country. They NEVER answer the phone. They do not respond to email. I haven't tried their fax machine yet, perhaps I'll hop in my time machine and try that out. If I had money I would be suing them. After mailing in my request for Defensive Driving, it took more than a month before I received any correspondence back, and that is from the Shawnee Community College Driver's Safety Program. They require you to finish the DD within 120 days of the issuance of the citation, however they are incapable of delivering relevant information in a timely manner. I don't know who actually works for this organization as I have never spoken to anyone, however any taxpayers in this unfortunate county should be APPALLED at this ridiculous situation and protest in the street. Worst County Circuit Clerk's office I've ever had the misfortune of having to communicate with. Or attempting to anyway.

Very Rude Staff!

Def fake construction zone, but on top of that the officer lied about my speed. If I’m wrong, then what have they been doing at MM18 for 10 years? Everyone knows very well what kind of racket you have. Since Illinois doesn’t know how to run a balanced budget state, they take it out on the people passing through. Everyone knows and everyone is in on it. The local lawyers even. I hope you get exposed and your socialist state, especially Pulaski County, falls in a sinkhole. Just very unethical.

Be careful these people are out for money they are not for the people they are charging people over $800 tickets for a construction zone that is never used and even if you live far you will have to appear money hungry court

Clerk was friendly and polite.

Safe county to drive through if you obey the speed limit.

Fake construction zone run by sheriff's department. Total speed trap for town. 750 for ticket. Told to Pay an extra 150 to have the ticket changed to a non moving violation to keep off record. For total of 900. Seems illegal? But it is Illinois after all!

Out of a $1,000 for a fake work zone. I’ve drove through there day and night and never any work being done. And one day the work site just disappeared. We should start a class action lawsuit.

Tickets!
Stay away .. drive around it

I received a ticket while driving cross country for vacation. I was told by the officer who wrote the ticket that I could call and have an attorney from the courthouse appear for me since I'm over four hours away. When I called I was told this officer was wrong and had told other people the same thing!! Apparently I will have to appear or pay an attorney to appear. Looking at this site I'm now terrified that not only will I be in court for hours after a four hour drive also with a ticket for $1,000!!

Extremely rude on the phone.

A designed speeding trap requiring out of town individuals to present for court appearances. They offer no convenient times to present for court with 9AM required appearances. Sad area, sad employees. Shame to them. Our attorney will deal with this instead. Will be looking into if this construction site is actually construction or simply a tool to finance the town.

One dirty little town & County. Major Speed Trap in a fake construction zone on Interstate #57. 302 people in court today for the same construction zone violations. Average cost was $900 fine. A real racket going for a very economically depressed city & county. The most corrupt situation I have ever personally witnessed. Extremely rude people in the courthouse starting with the so called cop in the parking lot. My advice. Stay away from this corrupt little village & so called county.

There is a police trap on the highway here and they get you good. This place blows

These people are very rude and unprofessional over the phone. The lady had so much attitude when I was speaking to her in respectful tone.

If you looking for justice you won't find it there !!
Like one of the comments say, they are out for a money 100% true I was there with over 300 people in a small court room for over 2 hours, it's hot, people are stressed and the tickets are expensive !! Like around $1,000 and over ...

Be careful when you going through this county!!! There prejudice and rude!!! They are out for money!!! There are illegal speed traps in Pulaski County. A little town of 800 or less. MOUND, Illinois

People were nice. Everything was very inconvenient they don't have a website or email. Nobody seems to know what was going on