SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The monarch butterfly specialty license plate is now available for issue, seven years after it was approved by the Illinois General Assembly.
Those who paid a $10 deposit in 2016 to pre-order the plate can pay $44 to have their plate replaced, as long as their current plate doesn't expire within 90 days. Anyone who didn't pay a deposit can pay $54 for the new plate.
The plate costs $25 in addition to the annual registration fee every year it's renewed. If renewed, $23 of that fee benefits the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' Roadside Monarch Habitat Fund, part of the Illinois Monarch Project. Previously paid deposits will also go to the habitat fund.
Monarch butterflies were adopted as Illinois' state insect in 1975. They migrate from Mexico to the prairies of Illinois every year, traveling an estimated 2,500 miles. The Illinois Monarch Project is working to restore the butterflies' struggling migratory habitat by planting 150 million new milkweed stems and other nectar resources in Illinois by 2038.
In 2016, the General Assembly passed legislation to create a universal license plate template, helping law enforcement read plates more easily. At the time, there were 109 different specialty license plates in the state, many with different layouts.
For a new specialty plate to be approved, a charitable organization needs at least 2,000 Illinoisans to place deposits to that organization. The specialty plate would follow the universal layout and include a decal on the left side showing the cause or charity it supports.
Here are the fees associated with the monarch butterfly license plate:
Random-number plate
- If your current plate expires within 90 days: $205 ($151 registration fee + $25 monarch license plate fee + $29 replacement fee)
- If your current plate doesn't expire within 90 days: $54 ($25 monarch license plate fee + $29 replacement fee)
- Annual renewal: $176 ($151 registration fee + $25 monarch license plate fee)
Personalized plate
- If your current plate expires within 90 days: $252 ($151 registration fee + $25 monarch license plate fee + $47 personalized fee + $29 replacement fee)
- If your current plate doesn't expire within 90 days: $101 ($25 monarch license plate fee + $47 personalized fee + $29 replacement fee)
- Annual renewal: $183 ($151 registration fee + $25 monarch license plate fee + $7 personalized fee)
Vanity plate
- If your current plate expires within 90 days: $299 ($151 registration fee + $25 monarch license plate fee + $94 vanity fee + $29 replacement fee)
- If your current plate doesn't expire within 90 days: $148 ($25 monarch license plate fee + $94 vanity fee + $29 replacement fee)
- Annual renewal: $189 ($151 registration fee + $25 monarch license plate fee + $13 vanity fee)
Monarch plates may be displayed on passenger vehicles, trucks and vans weighing 8,000 or less, and sports utility vehicles.
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