Illinois speeding laws treat driving over the posted limit as anything from a petty offense settled by mail to a criminal misdemeanor that puts you in front of a judge. The dividing line is 26 mph over the limit: below that, you face fines and possible points; at or above it, you face a misdemeanor charge, potential jail time, and a permanent record. School zones, construction zones, and commercial driver’s licenses each add their own layer of consequences on top of the basic tiers.
Illinois Speed Limits
Outside urban areas, Illinois caps speed at 70 mph on interstates and tollways, 65 mph on divided four-lane highways the Department of Transportation has designated, and 55 mph on other roads. Inside urban districts, the default is 30 mph, and alleys are capped at 15 mph.1Illinois General Assembly. 625 ILCS 5/11-601 – General Speed Restrictions
School zones drop to 20 mph on school days from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. when children are present.2Illinois State Police. Illinois State Police Reminds Motorists to Stay Alert as Children Head Back to School Construction and maintenance zones post their own reduced limits. Separately, Illinois law requires drivers to operate at a speed that is reasonable and proper for traffic, weather, and road conditions, so an officer can cite you for unsafe speed even below the posted limit.
Fines for Going 1 to 25 MPH Over
Speeding 1 to 25 mph over the posted limit is a petty offense in Illinois. There is no jail exposure. Base fines run in the low hundreds of dollars, and court costs plus local surcharges push the total higher depending on the county or municipality.
The important feature of this tier is that court supervision is available, which lets you keep the ticket off your public driving record if you qualify. The point exposure inside this tier also climbs faster than most drivers realize: 1 to 10 mph over is 5 points, 11 to 14 mph over jumps to 15 points, and 15 to 25 mph over hits 20 points.
Aggravated Speeding at 26 MPH Over or More
At 26 mph over the limit, the offense becomes aggravated speeding, a criminal misdemeanor. You cannot pay this ticket by mail. A court appearance is mandatory, and a conviction produces a criminal record that shows up on background checks.
26 to 34 MPH Over: Class B Misdemeanor
Driving 26 to 34 mph over the posted limit is a Class B misdemeanor.3Illinois General Assembly. 625 ILCS 5/11-601.5 – Driving 26 Miles Per Hour or More in Excess of Applicable Limit The maximum penalty is 180 days in county jail and a fine of up to $1,500.4Illinois General Assembly. 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-60 – Class B Misdemeanor First-time offenders with clean records rarely get jail, but the misdemeanor conviction itself is the lasting problem.
35+ MPH Over: Class A Misdemeanor
At 35 mph or more over the limit, the charge becomes a Class A misdemeanor, the most serious misdemeanor classification in Illinois.3Illinois General Assembly. 625 ILCS 5/11-601.5 – Driving 26 Miles Per Hour or More in Excess of Applicable Limit The maximum penalty is up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. That is the same offense class as a DUI or domestic battery. Fifty points hit your driving record at this level, which makes a license suspension almost automatic.
Court supervision eligibility for aggravated speeding is restricted by statute, so a conviction at this level is far more likely to become permanent than one for a routine ticket. Hiring a traffic attorney is worth serious consideration.
School Zone and Construction Zone Penalties
Speeding in a highway construction or maintenance zone carries a minimum fine of $250 for a first offense and $750 for a second or subsequent offense. Those are floors, not caps. A second violation within two years also triggers a 90-day license suspension.5Illinois General Assembly. 625 ILCS 5/11-605.1 – Special Traffic Offenses in Highway Construction or Maintenance Zones
School zone speeding carries a minimum $150 fine for a first offense, with higher minimums for repeats.6Illinois General Assembly. 625 ILCS 5/11-605 – Special Traffic Offenses in School Zones
Court supervision is not available for construction zone speeding when workers are present, or for school zone speeding when the violation created a potential hazard for children.7Circuit Court of Cook County. Court Supervision That removes the mechanism most drivers rely on to keep a ticket off their record.
Speed Camera Tickets Work Differently
Chicago and some surrounding communities operate automated speed cameras near schools and parks. A Chicago camera ticket costs $35 for 6 to 10 mph over the limit and $100 for 11 mph or more over within a designated safety zone.8City of Chicago. Automated Speed Enforcement Frequently Asked Questions
These are administrative penalties, not moving violations. They add no points to your driving record and are not reported to insurers. Ignoring them, however, leads to vehicle registration holds, late fees, and eventually collections.
Court Supervision Keeps the Ticket Off Your Record
Court supervision is the outcome to aim for on a routine speeding ticket. When a judge grants it, you are technically found guilty, but the conviction does not appear on your public driving record. The Secretary of State receives a confidential report that cannot be shared with insurance companies or used to suspend your license.7Circuit Court of Cook County. Court Supervision
Supervision is available for most fine-only speeding offenses, meaning tickets up to 25 mph over the limit. It is off the table for construction zone violations with workers present and school zone violations that endangered children, and it is restricted for aggravated speeding at 26 mph over or more.7Circuit Court of Cook County. Court Supervision
The supervision period lasts four months. If you pick up no additional traffic violations during that window, the case is dismissed and you are discharged.7Circuit Court of Cook County. Court Supervision Some courts also require a traffic safety course as a condition. If you are eligible, ask for it.
Points and License Suspension
The Secretary of State assigns points to your driving record for each moving violation. For speeding:
- 1 to 10 mph over: 5 points
- 11 to 14 mph over: 15 points
- 15 to 25 mph over: 20 points
- 26 mph or more over: 50 points
For drivers 21 and older, accumulating 45 to 74 points triggers a two-month license suspension. Higher totals bring longer suspensions. Points stay on your record for four to five years, so multiple tickets in a short span add up quickly. Supervised violations do not generate points on your public record, which is another reason supervision matters. And note that the point system runs alongside the criminal penalties for aggravated speeding: a single 26-plus ticket delivers 50 points and a misdemeanor charge at once.
What Speeding Does to Your Insurance
A speeding conviction that lands on your driving record will almost certainly raise your insurance rates. Industry data from 2024 found that a minor speeding ticket (under 30 mph over the limit) increased premiums by roughly 25 to 34% on average, while a major ticket (30 mph or more over) pushed the average increase to about 43%. Your actual increase depends on your insurer, your location within Illinois, and your prior driving history.
Higher rates typically last three to five years from the date of the conviction. Over that period, even a single ticket can cost well over $1,000 in additional premiums, often more than the fine itself. That is the reason court supervision has such outsized value: if the conviction never appears on your record, insurers have nothing to rate against.
CDL Holders Face Federal Consequences
Commercial driver’s license holders take a separate hit under federal rules. Going 15 mph or more over the posted limit qualifies as a serious traffic violation under Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations, whether or not you were driving a commercial vehicle at the time.9eCFR. 49 CFR 383.51 – Disqualification of Drivers
A second serious violation within three years triggers a 60-day CDL disqualification. A third serious violation within three years brings a 120-day disqualification. These periods apply on top of any other penalties and cover speeding in a personal vehicle.10eCFR. 49 CFR Part 383 Subpart D – Driver Disqualifications and Penalties For a driver whose income depends on the CDL, a ticket a non-commercial driver might ignore is career-threatening. Every available defense is worth pursuing, ideally with an attorney.
Out-of-State Drivers and Missed Court Dates
An out-of-state license does not insulate you from an Illinois speeding ticket. Through the Driver License Compact and the Non-Resident Violator Compact, Illinois reports convictions to your home state, which almost certainly participates in one or both agreements. If you ignore the citation, Illinois reports your non-compliance, and your home state can suspend your license until you clear the Illinois case. Illinois courts allow some violations to be handled by mail or through an attorney appearing on your behalf.
As of 2025, Illinois courts no longer automatically issue a failure-to-appear order or suspend your license the instant you miss a court date. The clerk sends additional reminders by mail, text, email, or phone about the rescheduled date. That is a grace period, not a pass. Continued no-shows or nonpayment let the court enter a conviction in your absence and notify the Secretary of State, who can then suspend your driving privileges. Reinstatement requires resolving the ticket plus paying a reinstatement fee, and driving on a suspended license is a separate criminal offense. Respond to the ticket by the deadline printed on it, even if that just means requesting a continuance.
Defenses Worth Raising
Illinois officers clock speed using handheld radar, moving radar, laser (lidar), pacing, and aerial measurement.11Illinois State Police. Speed Limit Enforcement Each method has weak points. Radar and lidar devices must be properly calibrated, and the officer must be trained and certified on the specific equipment. Requesting maintenance logs and certification records through discovery is a standard opening move; overdue calibration or inconsistent readings can undermine the state’s case. Pacing depends on the officer’s own speedometer, which must be independently verified as accurate.
Dashcam footage with a GPS speed overlay can show a different speed than the officer recorded. To use it, you generally have to establish that the video is unaltered, that the GPS data is accurate, and that the clip covers the right time and place. Unedited, timestamped footage carries far more weight than a clip that starts mid-incident.
A necessity defense, arguing you were speeding to avoid a greater harm such as a medical emergency, is theoretically available but hard to win. Courts require evidence that the threat was immediate, that speeding was the only reasonable response, and that the harm avoided outweighed the danger created. This is not a defense to try without a lawyer.