ILLINOIS

Chicago, not surprisingly, was by far the earliest city in Illinois to pass an ordinance to license operators of automobiles, and was likely also the first city in the United States to do so, on July 6, 1899.  The first license was issued on February 17, 1900.  Several other cities followed with similar licensing and/or registration until the first state law took effect on July 1, 1907, rendering all local ordinances regulating private automobiles invalid.

Aurora (29,807)

An ordinance was passed on April 16, 1906, to register automobiles, and a city plate was issued.  Numbers began at #501.  143 licenses were issued by June 5, 1907.

Chicago (2,185,283)

The first city ordinance here, and in fact in the entire United States, was passed on July 6, 1899, requiring an annual automobile operator's license which expired one year from the date of issue.  A Board of Examiners was to be created, made up of the City Electrician, City Engineer and Commissioner of Health, to assess each applicant's physical and mental acuity to drive.  Upon passage of the 18-question exam, the license fee was $3, which could be renewed for $1 per year thereafter, and a paper "certificate of qualification" was issued.

An article in the Inter Ocean on December 7, 1899, explained the delay in the licensing of drivers:  "Mayor Harrison decided yesterday to enforce the automobile ordinance which was passed by the city council July 6...Shortly after the ordinance became a law some of Mayor Harrison's friends who own and operate automobile carriages for pleasure called on him and protested against the indignity of being compelled to appear before a board of examiners and receive a certificate of intelligence and capacity...Mayor Harrison then announced that he would not enforce the ordinance and it has been a defunct measure up to date."  Apparently, several recent accidents changed his mind.  A subsequent article on February 18, 1900, described the first exams held the day before, and that ten licenses were issued, the very first one to Arthur J. Eddy.

According to an article in Water & Sewage Works, Volume 23, in 1902, it states that "The report of the board for the first year shows 377 licenses issued..."  This aligns closely with research by George Balsamo which indicates that 378 persons had been licensed by December 30, 1900.  A letter from the board's chairman in 1904 also states that the "List was started February 28, 1900."

Upon the recommendation of the City Electrician, the ordinance was amended on January 28, 1900, to require a numbered badge to be issued by the city in addition to the paper license.  This undated round badge was to be pinned somewhere onto the driver's clothing or hat.  Known operator's license badges are as follows:

1900-03 Round "LICENSED OPERATOR AUTOMOBILES/CHICAGO"   #412

At some point, possibly at a later date, in addition to the operator's license, Chicago required each automobile to also be registered annually with an undated badge.  Known automobile license badges are as follows:

1901/02 Diamond "AUTOMOBILE LICENSE/CITY OF CHICAGO"    #412 - 465

1902/03 Nonagon "CITY OF CHICAGO/AUTOMOBILE/LICENSE"    #412

1903/04 Wreath  "CHICAGO/AUTOMOBILE LICENSE"            #411

While operator's licenses were annual but expired one year from issuance, automobile licenses were issued annually for a fixed registration year from May 1 to April 30.  An original certificate has survived for License #412 which was issued on March 15, 1901.  It has a pre-printed date of validity "until the thirtieth day of April, 1901" with the last "1" penned into a "2."

A survey of U.S. automobile registration statistics by jurisdiction conducted by The Horseless Age and published in its September 28, 1904, issue, contains the following:  "The chairman of the Board of Automobile Registry of Chicago writes:  'Replying to your inquiry of the 30th ult., I am pleased to submit the following information:  Total number of automobiles registered up to September 1, 2,415.  List was started February 28, 1900.  Motor cycles are not included in the list...Cars registered during August, 1904, 118.'"

A revised ordinance providing for automobile licenses was passed on June 30, 1902.  We are not sure what features of the licensing process were changed.  George Balsamo reported that in 1902, 928 licenses were issued, 502 of them to new applicants and 424 renewals, leaving an unaccounted difference of 2.

The Horseless Age reported on May 6, 1903, that more than 1,050 automobile licenses have been issued.  "On May 1 City Electrician Ellicott transmitted to the chief of police a cut of the new badge, with orders for the arrest of everyone operating an automobile without a 1903 license and badge.  The base of the new badge is a gold wreath in relief, on which is a royal blue enamel plate with the words:  'Chicago Automobile License.'  On this is a gold bar with the number in black, held by a pair of wings surmounting a shield in scroll."

Every effort to propose and pass a new and improved automobile ordinance was met with fierce resistance from the automotive community, yet serious accidents and crimes kept occurring, and there was no way to identify speeding automobiles.  A new ordinance passed on December 8, 1902, requiring a rear license plate on automobiles as well as headlight numbers, was vetoed by the Mayor because, although he was in favor of it, he felt it was crucial to first confirm the cooperation of the city's three park boards.  The ordinance was referred back to committee.

Meanwhile, according to The Motor Way on May 1, 1903, "the South Park commissioners have passed an ordinance forbidding the use of the boulevards to automobiles unless numbered in letters at least 5 inches high and one and one-half wide."  The parks were therefore the first to require the display of plates, before the city itself.

Finally, a new ordinance was successfully passed on June 8, 1903, which stipulated that every automobile carry an owner-provided rear plate, which was to have numbers 5 inches tall in white-on-black.  Vehicles were divided into two classes, private and commercial.  The private vehicles had all-numeric plates, while the commercial vehicles were to have a single letter prefix, representing the first letter in the name of the company owning the vehicle.  The highest known undated 1903-04 Chicago pre-state plate is #2187; no lettered pre-states are known.  Motorcycles were apparently added to the vehicles required to be licensed with an ordinance passed on October 26, 1903, despite their omission from the September 1, 1904, list described above.

Soon, it became apparent that automobile operators could not be trusted to make or supply their own license plates.  Some drivers used their number on more than one vehicle or chose fictitious numbers altogether.  Cases were discovered in which numbers were made too small or too dark, or were covered up during speeding violations via a lever/flap device!  As a result, a fourth ordinance was successfully passed on July 11, 1904, providing for annual city-issued rear license plates.  Fees were still the same, as they had been since 1899, and the license year was May 1 to April 30.  The Chicago Tribune reported on August 20, 1904, that "The first consignment of number plates to designate automobiles was received yesterday by City Electrician Ellicott.  As soon as the shipment is complete he will send notices to all automobile owners not protected by injunction requiring them to obtain the numbers.  He will receive 3,000 plates.  Numbers will correspond with those now held."  Auto owners were charged $1 for the new plate, as were renewals in 1905.

Known city-issued plates for each year, all 7" x 12" and embossed, are listed below:

      1904 Aluminum on Black  #1 - 2458

      1905 Brass on Blue      #1 - 3850, 685-B

      1906 Brass on Red      #67 - 4462,  67-A (flanking dashes on 2-digit)

      1907 Brass on Blue     #72 - 5432, 578A

A Motor Age magazine article on August 3, 1905, mentions that a complete list of automobile licenses issued was published in the Chicago Daily Journal on July 15, 1905.  "In all 3,000 numbers are out, but this does not indicate truly the actual total, for many have lost their tags, necessitating the issuing of new ones.  This brings the count down to 2,208...Arthur J. Eddy holds tag No. 1...while 3000 was given to H. E. Perry in place of 2710, which was lost."

The Proceeding of the City Council on March 19, 1906, states:  "Ordered, That the City Electrician be and he is hereby authorized and directed to enter into a contact on behalf of the City of Chicago with C. H. Hanson, incorporated, for the purchase of 4,000 automobile number plates, and for 400 duplicate automobile number plates with letters thereon, and with the figures "1906", and the words "City of Chicago" on all of said number plates, in accordance with proposal of date March 3, 1906..."

It would appear that the "duplicate" plates containing "letters" were replacement plates for lost tags, and that they carried a letter suffix such as #685-B seen for 1905, since this is the only type of lettered tag seen so far.  Based on Mr. Perry being issued #3000, and not a lettered 1905 plate, to replace his original #2710, we wonder if the special replacement series debuted at some later point in 1905, or whether the policy was applied inconsistently.

The first Illinois state law, which took effect on July 1, 1907, invalidated all city auto licensing ordinances, which meant that the 1907 Chicago plates were in use for only two months.  For 1908, Chicago city tags were only issued for non-motorized types of vehicles such as horse-drawn carriages and wagons.  It has been reported that in mid-1909, language in the ordinance was changed which allowed the issuance of smaller city tax tags to resume for motor vehicles.  These tags are known for 1910-31.  A full-size 1909 plate #1727 has been seen but its authenticity has not been verified.  Plates gave way to windshield stickers from 1932 to the present (see ALPCA JUN-86 p.79, JUN-96 p.74, DEC-96 p.185).

Decatur (31,140)

An ordinance was passed on September 4, 1905, and effective September 8, 1905, requiring a $1 annual fee to the city clerk and an owner-provided white-on-black rear plate with 4-inch-tall numbers.  The license term expired May 1 each year.  "If one member of a family secures a license to run an automobile it is not necessary for the other members to have licenses..."  One wonders if the exact definition of "family" was ever called into question!

Elgin (25,976)

An ordinance was passed on June 7, 1904, requiring automobile registration and a city-issued permanent undated leather plate.  Plates #49 and 55 are shown in a period photo (see ALPCA JUN-96 p.88).

A new ordinance was passed on March 23, 1907, making registration annual.  City-issued embossed 1907 plates arrived on April 18, 1907, and #126 was reported on May 13, 1907.  Plates ranging from #76 to #95 are known.  When the state law took effect on July 1, 1907, the city was left with "$75 worth of unsold signs."  (See MAPA Vol.3 No.4)  This ordinance was amended sometime after March 23, 1907, to include motorcycles.

Evanston (24,978)

Registration may have begun as early as 1902.  Embossed city plates are known for 1905 (#46), 1906 (#60) and 1907 (#-46).

Fort Sheridan (1,575)

Registration was required by 1906.

Freeport (17,567)

According to The Automobile on October 27, 1903, "An automobile ordinance has been passed in Freeport, Ill., requiring all automobiles to be licensed, the fee being $2, and making it compulsory for the automobilist to display the number of his license..."  This report has not been verified through any mention in local newspapers, however.

Various articles in the Freeport Journal-Standard seem to indicate that a licensing ordinance might not have taken effect until after April 1, 1905.  The July 6, 1905, issue reported that licenses cost $1 each and that all machines were to be numbered.  The earliest monthly report of the city treasurer that listed automobile licenses reported that $3 was received during June 1905.  The annual reports of the city treasurer listed the amounts collected for automobile licenses as follows:

April 1, 1904, to April 1, 1905   (none listed)

April 1, 1905, to April 1, 1906       $150

April 1, 1906, to April 1, 1907        $78

April 1, 1907, to April 1, 1908        $20

The monthly report covering November 1905 listed just $1 received for automobile licenses.  If the $1-per-automobile rate is correct, then 248 automobiles were licensed in total.

Galesburg (22,089)

The Horseless Age reports on August 10, 1904, that an ordinance requiring numbering recently passed despite the Mayor's veto.  More details were provided in an article in the Galesburg Register-Mail on April 6, 1954, looking back at news fifty years ago:  "In substance, provisions of the ordinance were:  'Every owner or driver of every automobile shall be compelled to register with the clerk...and upon doing so, the clerk shall assess him the sum of $1, and in return, the owner or driver shall receive aluminum figures, composing a number which shall correspond to the number on the books of the city clerk.  Numbers must be four inches high and must be suspended at the rear of the automobile...'  At the mid-July meeting, the ordinance was passed with an amendment so that visiting autoists could remain in the city from one to five days without paying the dollar license fee."

Highland Park (4,209)

Registration was required by 1906.

Joliet (34,670)

An ordinance was passed on October 10, 1904, requiring owner-provided plates.  An undated leather plate #93 is known with "JOLIET" arched across the top.  (Len Harris reported that the ordinance passed on June 23 or 29, 1903, that plate #93 was issued in April 1905, and a total of 159 were issued.)

Lake Bluff (726)

Registration was required by 1906.

Lake Forest (3,349)

Registration was required by 1906.

Moline (24,199)

The September 14, 1904, issue of The Horseless Age reports that an ordinance passed which "requires registering and the numbering of cars."

Monmouth (9,128)

According to The Horseless Age on September 20, 1905, an ordinance was passed requiring automobiles to register with the city clerk "and to carry numbers issued by him."

Naperville (3,449)

Numbering was apparently in effect by September 11, 1906, when "automobile number 3 from Naperville" was involved in an accident.

Oak Park (19,444)

The November 5, 1902, issue of The Horseless Age reports that "An ordinance is in force similar to that of Chicago.  Authorities favor policy of reciprocity with other municipalities as regards licenses."  1907 embossed plates #27 to #39 are known.

Peoria (66,950)

An automobile ordinance was passed on January 13, 1903, and registration began the next day, apparently with owner-provided plates.  The January 23, 1903, issue of The Horseless Age reports that "Each machine must have a number, of aluminum figures 4 inches high and 2 1/2 inches wide, to be furnished by the city clerk.  The chauffeur must also deposit a letter with the clerk, and pay a license of $1 per year.  An amendment was also passed allowing the owners to select the quality of the figures to be used, subject to the approval of the city clerk."

Rockford (45,401)

The Horseless Age reports on August 3, 1904, that an ordinance passed "last week" requiring automobile owners to register with the city clerk and display 4-inch-tall numbers.

Rock Island (24,335)

An ordinance was passed September 19, 1904, which "requires registration and numbering of cars", according to the September 28, 1904, issue of The Horseless Age.  The fee was $1 and owners were to provide their own plates to uniform standards.  According to the Rock Island Argus on November 15, 1904, "The chief of police was instructed to enforce the automobile ordinance which requires each machine to be registered with the city clerk and numbered.  Only ten numbers have been taken out since the ordinance was passed."  Two very similar undated leather-on-metal plates, #3-RI and #6-RI, are known.

Springfield (51,678)

A 1904 Motor Age article reports that an ordinance has passed reducing the annual automobile license fee from $5 to $2.

Waukegan (16,069)

The Horseless Age carried an article on November 5, 1902 (which at that time Waukegan was located on the main road from Chicago to Milwaukee), saying that the "Ordinance provides that operators be licensed, the city clerk issuing licenses; license fee, $2.  All licenses expire on April 30 after date of issue.  A numbered badge is furnished with the license and must be worn by the operator..."  Embossed plates are known for 1906 (#?) and 1907 (#62).

Wilmette (4,943)

Registration was required by 1906.