625 ILCS 5/ Illinois Vehicle Code.

(625 ILCS 5/12-821)

Sec. 12-821. Display of telephone number; complaint calls.

(a) Each school bus and multifunction school-activity bus shall display at the rear of the bus a sign, with letters and numerals readily visible and readable, indicating the area code and telephone number of the owner of the bus, regardless of whether the owner is a school district or another person or entity. The sign shall be in the following form:

"TO COMMENT ON MY DRIVING, CALL (area code and telephone number of bus owner)".

A school bus owner who placed a sign conforming to the requirements of Public Act 95-176 on a school bus before January 1, 2010 (the effective date of Public Act 96-655) may continue to use that sign on that school bus rather than a sign that conforms to the requirements of Public Act 96-655; however, if the school bus owner replaces that sign, the replacement sign shall conform to the requirements of Public Act 96-655.

(b) The owner of each school bus or multifunction school-activity bus shall establish procedures for accepting the calls provided for under subsection (a) and for taking complaints.

(c) The procedures established under subsection (b) shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) an internal investigation of the events that led to each complaint; and

(2) a report to the complaining party on the results of the investigation and the action taken, if any.

(Source: P.A. 95-176, eff. 1-1-08; 96-410, eff. 7-1-10; 96-655, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)

(625 ILCS 5/12-825)

Sec. 12-825. Extracurricular activities; passengers.

(a) Each school bus operated by a public or private primary or secondary school transporting students enrolled in grade 12 or below for a school related athletic event or other school approved extracurricular activity shall be registered under subsection (a) of Section 3-808 of this Code, comply with school bus driver permit requirements under Section 6-104 of this Code, comply with the minimum liability insurance requirements under Section 12-707.01 of this Code, and comply with special requirements pertaining to school buses under this Chapter.

(b) Each school bus that operates under subsection (a) of this Section may be used for the transportation of passengers other than students enrolled in grade 12 or below for activities that do not involve either a public or private educational institution if the school bus driver or school bus owner complies with Section 12-806 of this Code and the "SCHOOL BUS" sign under Section 12-802 of this Code is either removed or obscured so that it is not visible to other motorists.

(Source: P.A. 100-241, eff. 1-1-18; 100-863, eff. 8-14-18.)

(625 ILCS 5/Ch. 12 Art. IX heading) ARTICLE IX. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION BUSES

(625 ILCS 5/12-900) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12-900)

Sec. 12-900. Color and markings. Each religious organization bus may be of any color and have any markings designating its purpose other than those required for school buses under Article VIII of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 79-798.)

(625 ILCS 5/12-901) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12-901)

Sec. 12-901. Special lighting equipment. Any religious organization bus may be equipped with a 4-lamp flashing signal system having unison flashing amber lamps, 2 at the front and 2 at the rear of the bus, mounted as high and as widely spaced laterally on the same level as is practicable. If such equipment is installed, (a) each lamp must be a sealed beam at least 5 1/2 inches in diameter and have sufficient intensity to be visible at 500 feet in normal sunlight, (b) the system shall be actuated only by means of a manual switch, and (c) there shall be a device for indicating to the driver that the system is operating properly or is inoperative.

(Source: P.A. 79-798.)

(625 ILCS 5/12-902) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12-902)

Sec. 12-902. Rules and regulations. The Department of Transportation may promulgate rules and regulations to more completely specify the equipment requirements for every motor vehicle defined as a religious organization bus under Section 1-111.1a.

(Source: P.A. 90-89, eff. 1-1-98.)

(625 ILCS 5/Ch. 13 heading) CHAPTER 13. INSPECTION OF VEHICLES

(625 ILCS 5/13-100) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 13-100)

Sec. 13-100. (Repealed).

(Source: P.A. 85-1407. Repealed by P.A. 90-89, eff. 1-1-98.)

(625 ILCS 5/13-100.1)

Sec. 13-100.1. Definitions. As used in this Chapter, "affected areas" means the counties of Cook, DuPage, Lake, Kane, McHenry, Will, Madison, St. Clair, and Monroe and the townships of Aux Sable and Goose Lake in Grundy County and the township of Oswego in Kendall County.

(Source: P.A. 91-254, eff. 7-1-00.)

(625 ILCS 5/13-101) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 13-101)

Sec. 13-101. Submission to safety test; certificate of safety. To promote the safety of the general public, every owner of a second division vehicle, medical transport vehicle, tow truck, first division vehicle including a taxi which is used for a purpose that requires a school bus driver permit, motor vehicle used for driver education training, or contract carrier transporting employees in the course of their employment on a highway of this State in a vehicle designed to carry 15 or fewer passengers shall, before operating the vehicle upon the highways of Illinois, submit it to a "safety test" and secure a certificate of safety furnished by the Department as set forth in Section 13-109. Each second division motor vehicle that pulls or draws a trailer, semitrailer or pole trailer, with a gross weight of 10,001 lbs or more or is registered for a gross weight of 10,001 lbs or more, motor bus, religious organization bus, school bus, senior citizen transportation vehicle, and limousine shall be subject to inspection by the Department and the Department is authorized to establish rules and regulations for the implementation of such inspections.

The owners of each salvage vehicle shall submit it to a "safety test" and secure a certificate of safety furnished by the Department prior to its salvage vehicle inspection pursuant to Section 3-308 of this Code. In implementing and enforcing the provisions of this Section, the Department and other authorized State agencies shall do so in a manner that is not inconsistent with any applicable federal law or regulation so that no federal funding or support is jeopardized by the enactment or application of these provisions.

However, none of the provisions of Chapter 13 requiring safety tests or a certificate of safety shall apply to:

(a) farm tractors, machinery and implements, wagons, wagon-trailers or like farm vehicles used primarily in agricultural pursuits;

(b) vehicles other than school buses, tow trucks and medical transport vehicles owned or operated by a municipal corporation or political subdivision having a population of 1,000,000 or more inhabitants and which are subject to safety tests imposed by local ordinance or resolution;

(c) a semitrailer or trailer having a gross weight of 5,000 pounds or less including vehicle weight and maximum load;

(d) recreational vehicles;

(e) vehicles registered as and displaying Illinois antique vehicle plates and vehicles registered as expanded-use antique vehicles and displaying expanded-use antique vehicle plates;

(f) house trailers equipped and used for living quarters;

(g) vehicles registered as and displaying Illinois permanently mounted equipment plates or similar vehicles eligible therefor but registered as governmental vehicles provided that if said vehicle is reclassified from a permanently mounted equipment plate so as to lose the exemption of not requiring a certificate of safety, such vehicle must be safety tested within 30 days of the reclassification;

(h) vehicles owned or operated by a manufacturer, dealer or transporter displaying a special plate or plates as described in Chapter 3 of this Code while such vehicle is being delivered from the manufacturing or assembly plant directly to the purchasing dealership or distributor, or being temporarily road driven for quality control testing, or from one dealer or distributor to another, or are being moved by the most direct route from one location to another for the purpose of installing special bodies or equipment, or driven for purposes of demonstration by a prospective buyer with the dealer or his agent present in the cab of the vehicle during the demonstration;

(i) pole trailers and auxiliary axles;

(j) special mobile equipment;

(k) vehicles properly registered in another State pursuant to law and displaying a valid registration plate or digital registration plate, except vehicles of contract carriers transporting employees in the course of their employment on a highway of this State in a vehicle designed to carry 15 or fewer passengers are only exempted to the extent that the safety testing requirements applicable to such vehicles in the state of registration are no less stringent than the safety testing requirements applicable to contract carriers that are lawfully registered in Illinois;

(l) water-well boring apparatuses or rigs;

(m) any vehicle which is owned and operated by the federal government and externally displays evidence of such ownership; and

(n) second division vehicles registered for a gross weight of 10,000 pounds or less, except when such second division motor vehicles pull or draw a trailer, semi-trailer or pole trailer having a gross weight of or registered for a gross weight of more than 10,000 pounds; motor buses; religious organization buses; school buses; senior citizen transportation vehicles; medical transport vehicles; tow trucks; and any property carrying vehicles being operated in commerce that are registered for a gross weight of more than 8,000 lbs but less than 10,001 lbs.

The safety test shall include the testing and inspection of brakes, lights, horns, reflectors, rear vision mirrors, mufflers, safety chains, windshields and windshield wipers, warning flags and flares, frame, axle, cab and body, or cab or body, wheels, steering apparatus, and other safety devices and appliances required by this Code and such other safety tests as the Department may by rule or regulation require, for second division vehicles, school buses, medical transport vehicles, tow trucks, first division vehicles including taxis which are used for a purpose that requires a school bus driver permit, motor vehicles used for driver education training, vehicles designed to carry 15 or fewer passengers operated by a contract carrier transporting employees in the course of their employment on a highway of this State, trailers, and semitrailers subject to inspection.

For tow trucks, the safety test and inspection shall also include the inspection of winch mountings, body panels, body mounts, wheel lift swivel points, and sling straps, and other tests and inspections the Department by rule requires for tow trucks.

For driver education vehicles used by public high schools, the vehicle must also be equipped with dual control brakes, a mirror on each side of the vehicle so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the highway for a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear, and a sign visible from the front and the rear identifying the vehicle as a driver education car.

For trucks, truck tractors, trailers, semi-trailers, buses engaged in interstate commerce as defined Section 1-133 of this Code, and first division vehicles including taxis which are used for a purpose that requires a school bus driver permit, the safety test shall be conducted in accordance with the Minimum Periodic Inspection Standards promulgated by the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation and contained in Appendix G to Subchapter B of Chapter III of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Those standards, as now in effect, are made a part of this Code, in the same manner as though they were set out in full in this Code.

The passing of the safety test shall not be a bar at any time to prosecution for operating a second division vehicle, medical transport vehicle, motor vehicle used for driver education training, or vehicle designed to carry 15 or fewer passengers operated by a contract carrier as provided in this Section that is unsafe, as determined by the standards prescribed in this Code.

(Source: P.A. 103-476, eff. 1-1-24.)

(625 ILCS 5/13-101.1) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 13-101.1)

Sec. 13-101.1. Senior citizen transportation vehicle. Any vehicle of 12 or more passengers used in the transportation of senior citizens shall bear placards on both sides indicating it is being used for such purposes. The placards may be permanently or temporarily affixed to the vehicle. The size of the letters must be at least 2 inches high and the stroke of the brush must be at least 1/2 inch wide. Any such vehicle used for such purposes shall be subject to the inspections provided for vehicles of the second division and its operation shall be governed according to the requirements of this Code.

(Source: P.A. 82-957.)

(625 ILCS 5/13-102) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 13-102)

Sec. 13-102. Tests and investigations.

The Department shall conduct tests and make investigations to determine the kind and type of equipment necessary to test the brakes, lights, frame, wheels, steering apparatus, including camber and caster of the axle, and toe-in and tracking of the wheels, and all other devices and appliances referred to in this Act; and shall make public its findings and furnish upon request a list of the various testing devices approved by it.

(Source: P.A. 78-1244; 78-1297.)

(625 ILCS 5/13-102.1)

Sec. 13-102.1. Diesel powered vehicle emission inspection report. Beginning July 1, 2000, the Department of Transportation shall conduct an annual study concerned with the results of emission inspections for diesel powered vehicles registered for a gross weight of more than 16,000 pounds or having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 16,000 pounds. The study shall be reported to the General Assembly by June 30, 2001, and every June 30 thereafter. The study shall also be sent to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for its use in environmental matters.

The study shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:

(a) the number of diesel powered vehicles that were inspected for emission compliance pursuant to this Chapter 13 during the previous year, separating the number of inspections conducted at a brick-and-mortar official testing station and the number of inspections conducted by an official portable emissions testing company;

(b) the number of diesel powered vehicles that failed and passed the emission inspections conducted pursuant to this Chapter 13 during the previous year, separating the number of inspections conducted at a brick-and-mortar official testing station and the number of inspections conducted by an official portable emissions testing company; and

(c) the number of diesel powered vehicles that failed the emission inspections conducted pursuant to this Chapter 13 more than once in the previous year, separating the number of inspections conducted at a brick-and-mortar official testing station and the number of inspections conducted by an official portable emissions testing company.

(Source: P.A. 102-566, eff. 1-1-22.)

(625 ILCS 5/13-102.2)

Sec. 13-102.2. Diesel Emissions Opacity Report.

(a) By March 15, 2023, the Department of Transportation shall make available to the public a report that includes the following:

(1) a summary and disclosure of actual Department diesel emission testing data for at least one year through December 31, 2022, including an analysis of opacity levels recorded from actual opacity tests conducted, keyed to the model year of the vehicle and mileage;

(2) a census of the opacity limits for other states and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) non-attainment areas in the United States;

(3) a summary of actual air quality data in Illinois compared to actual air quality data from other states and EPA non-attainment areas in the United States; and

(4) substantive input from trucking or transportation companies and the public, including environmental justice communities, in the affected areas on the impact of stricter opacity limits.

(b) In the report, the Department must include the following items in an effort for the State to better understand the technology, repair, and enforcement elements of diesel emissions standards in Illinois:

(1) an analysis of the feasibility of including an onboard diagnostics (OBD) testing regime for vehicles model year 2010 and newer that are compatible with such testing; and

(2) recommendations for improving the effectiveness of the diesel emissions testing program.

(Source: P.A. 102-566, eff. 1-1-22.)

(625 ILCS 5/13-103) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 13-103)

Sec. 13-103. Official testing stations - Fee - Permit - Bond. Upon the payment of a fee of $50 and the filing of an application by the proprietor of a company or municipality upon forms furnished by the Department, accompanied by proof of experience, training and ability of the operator of the testing equipment, together with proof of approved testing equipment as defined in Section 13-102 and the giving of a bond conditioned upon faithful observance of this Section and of rules and regulations issued by the Department in the amount of $10,000 with security approved by the Department, the Department shall issue a permit to the proprietor of such company or municipality to operate an Official Testing Station. Such permit shall expire 12 months following its issuance, but may be renewed annually by complying with the requirements set forth in this Section and upon the payment of a renewal fee of $50. Proprietors of official testing stations for which permits have been issued prior to the effective date of this Act may renew such permits for the renewal fee of $50 on the expiration of each 12 months following issuance of such permits, by complying with the requirements set forth in this Section. However, any city, village or incorporated town shall upon application to the Department and without payment of any fee or filing of any bond, but upon proof of experience, training and ability of the operator of the testing equipment, and proof of approved testing equipment as defined in Section 13-102, be issued a permit to operate such testing station as an Official Testing Station under this Act. The permit so issued shall at all times be displayed in a prominent place in the official testing station which is licensed as an Official Testing Station under this Act. No person or company or municipality shall in any manner claim or represent himself or itself to be an official testing station unless a permit has been issued to him or it as provided in this Section.

Any person or municipality who or which has received a permit under this Section may test his or its own second division vehicles and issue certificates of safety and conduct emission inspections of his or its own second division vehicles in accordance with the requirements of Section 13-109.1 with respect to any such second division vehicles owned, operated or controlled by him or it.

Each such permit issued by the Department shall state on its face the location of the official testing station to be operated under the permit and safety tests shall be made only at such location. However, the Department may, upon application, authorize a change in the location of the official testing station and the removal of the testing equipment to the new location. Upon approval of such application, the Department shall issue an endorsement which the applicant shall affix to his permit. Such endorsement constitutes authority for the applicant to make such change in location and to remove his testing equipment at the times and to the places stated in the endorsement.

(Source: P.A. 103-476, eff. 1-1-24.)

(625 ILCS 5/13-103.1) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 13-103.1)

Sec. 13-103.1. Annual certification of certified safety testers and certified diesel emission testers - Fee - Renewal. Only certified safety testers are authorized to perform safety tests and affix Certificates of Safety to vehicles. The Department shall annually certify those certified safety testers and certified diesel emission testers who have met its requirements. Certified safety testers' and certified diesel emission testers' certificates shall expire 12 months following the date of issue, but may be renewed annually by complying with the requirements as established by the Department.

(Source: P.A. 103-476, eff. 1-1-24.)

(625 ILCS 5/13-103.2) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 13-103.2)

Sec. 13-103.2. Reclassification of nonconforming station. The Department may not change the administrative classification of a nonconforming official testing station from its present classification to a less favorable classification upon a change in ownership of the station, if (1) the nonconforming official testing station has held its present administrative classification since July 1, 1972, and (2) the station meets all requirements for its present classification, other than the requirement of having an exit door in direct line with the safety test equipment and (3) the station is located in a county with no other class "A" or class "C" official testing station.

(Source: P.A. 84-1422.)