The last time lines of NIU parents’ cars poured into DeKalb, the police nailed 30 of them for passing up tollbooths.

This weekend, when great numbers are expected to show up for Parents’ Weekend, they’ll be ready to ticket more.

About 30 people were ticketed for evading tollbooths Aug. 23 as they exited into DeKalb on either Peace or Annie Glidden Road. Many of them were probably students returning to NIU for the fall semester or parents bringing their children to college for the first time.

According to police, parents driving into DeKalb on Illinois Route 88 for Parents’ Weekend should be sure to pay the toll when exiting into DeKalb because throwing 40 cents into a tollbooth is a lot cheaper than paying a $50 fine.

“They’ve stepped up enforcement patrols for toll evasion. There could be police out writing tickets,” said Sari Mintz, public relations manager for the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.

Although the fines for blowing off a toll range between $25 and $500, some people think they have paid enough tolls and simply skip dropping the change into the box, Mintz said.

Other people don’t want to open their windows or don’t have any change handy, Mintz said.

Most people do pay the tolls, Mintz said. “A relatively small percentage don’t pay tolls. A certain amount of the population isn’t honest—A larger amount is,” she said.

About 10 Illinois State Police officers were detailed to the DeKalb exits to run routine checks on toll evasion and other violations as the students returned to NIU in August.