Between his business and personal uses, Adam Bartos of Barrington is responsible for six vehicles, and all of them are driven at times on the Illinois toll roads.
When the Illinois Tollway began switching from transponders to Sticker Tags, allowing drivers to pay tolls on their I-PASS account electronically, Bartos started to have challenges when a new tag did not work.
First learning about the change in December when a letter arrived from the tollway authority with the Sticker Tag included, Bartos said it did not work. He called the tollway, and a new one was sent. He was unable to get it to function as well.
Learning about an I-PASS Event in nearby Wauconda, Bartos went with all six transponders and information on all six vehicles with hopes of walking away with Sticker Tags and ridding himself of the transponders. He learned about the event from state Sen. Darby Hills, R-Barrington Hills.
“I was done in five to 10 minutes,” Bartos said. “They took care of me and fixed it all up.”
Scores of people received free Sticker Tags for their vehicles and returned their transponders for recycling on Tuesday at the Wauconda Township office, acquiring the latest technology for paying tolls in the state’s tollways.
Taking office in February after the retirement of former state Sen. Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, Hills said she got the idea to hold the Sticker Tag event because it was a way to make something necessary easier for her constituents.
“This is an opportunity to turn in their transponders and get the new Sticker Tag,” Hills said. “When they turn in their transponders, they get a $10 credit on their account. This is a way to make something easier for my constituents.”
Kim Johnson, Hills’ events and engagement coordinator, said 166 people came to the event, returning 290 transponders and those who needed it, receiving the Sticker Tags.
As people entered the room, they were greeted and escorted to a tollway representative — there were seven there sitting on one side of a long table—to get their Sticker Tag, return their transponder, or both. It took between five and 10 minutes.
“Everything was very seamless,” Johnson said. “There were no quirks. This is a good way to get to know the people in the district.”
Good on the Illinois tollways, the Sticker Tags can also be used on 34 toll roads around the country, including the Chicago Skyway and the Indiana Toll Road, according to the Illinois Tollway Authority’s website.
Once installed, tollway authority spokesperson Dan Rozek said, once the Sticker Tag is applied to the windshield, tolls will be recorded by embedded identification within the sticker itself. He recommends replacing them if a person gets a new vehicle.
Should a person rent a car, transponders are movable from one vehicle to another. Rozek said they can log into their account online, enter the rental license plate number, and the dates they will be using the temporary vehicle.
For people like Chris Lawler of Wauconda, the event was a chance to “get rid of my transponder.” Brenda Jentink of Wauconda Township said initially she had some concerns, but they were alleviated.
A Barrington Hills trustee before her appointment to the Illinois State Senate, Hills said occasions like the sticker event are an opportunity to interact with her constituents. Her 26th State Senate District has more than 50 times as many people as Barrington Hills.
“I hope to do more events like this, like a Mobile DMV,” Hills said. “I may do an I-Cash event,” she added, referring to efforts of the Illinois State Treasurer to help people learn they have money sitting in an account in the treasurer’s office. “Town Halls are a good way of meeting people, too.”