Illinois Tint Law

Yeah...he plans on signing it. Only problem is the 6 weeks for the resistance movement to gain momentum. It's there. There are a couple people working real hard behind the scenes, it really is unreal how much they are doing. I'm kind of blown away by their effort. From my end it appears they don't have much to gain, but they are in direct contact with the Governor. They then keep me updated. There really are some honest-hard working politicians, AND people in the law enforcement community that have been awesome through this whole thing. My biggest fear is the knucklehead dealers and customers letting them, and the rest of us down with their usual bullcrap with dark film.

OT... last august the city of Peoria passed an ordinance that made it illegal to put film on that's not within state law... they still stop the cars w/ illegal film, but now hold the dealer accountable if they put it on (kinda like indiana did a few yrs ago)... HOWEVER... just across the river from me, they can put it on illegally or just up the street (which is 'peoria heights' instead of peoria) and NOW the state is working on changing the law... that would be very cool for us..we're all fired up about it and hoping for the best...

keep OUR fingers crossed

I know all about that. Been in contact with Midwest marketing from the get go. It's not the state that changed things, more a few regular tint guys, and a few in the industry that have had enough of the bullshiot. A few open minded people in this state(government) are definitely to be thanked though. This process has been going on for 2 years, it certainly didn't happen overnight. Only about 6 weeks to go before we end 30 years(well, actually only the last 2 or 3) of nonsense. The old days of the unwritten rule of light film(anything the cops could see through)) being ok, changed with the new marshal law, zero tolerence, revenue generating, bullcrap of the last couple years. Not to mention the hundreds of idiot dealers that entered the industry. It's a mess, and the new law MIGHT help. Dark film is killing the industry though IMO.

so whats it going to end up like on Jan, 1 of 2010 ??? I have read so much on this topic its got me all confused, and i don't know what to believe. I just hope they don't change it to drastically because 9 outta 10 people always want their rear windows dark, and personally i love dark windows. maybe they can just alow the law to pretty much stay the same and just alow us to have 50% on the fronts and be done with it. people are always going to do their vehicles darker than what they know is legal anyways so, i just think they should let those with lightly tinted front windows to slide by. just my 2 cents

Shawn, anything darker than factory dark tinted glass or a 30% film on the rear of a vehicle and YOU will not be legally able to tint the front windows. 30% film and 70% glass is equal to 21% VLT so that makes it the same as most factory tinted windows already.....

There was another House Bill that DID pass already that makes it Illegal for US to put the film on. Same fines as the current ones for the drivers. $50 to $400 for the first offense and $100 to $500 for the second!

I hope you will join us and not tint anything darker than a legal tint job very soon...

wow, i wasn't sure what was going to happen. looks like the laws are always getting tighter, i think the states come up with this stuff just to line some more pockets

TIGHTER? Not even. You can still go blacked out on the rear but nothing on the front! That is exactly like it is now. Or you can go a 30% film on the rear and 50% on the front, or 35% film all around.

This is very fair in that they are actually allowing us to put film on the front.

Just because someone thinks that their privacy is more important than the safety of others around them does not justify allowing anything dark on the front doors.

I agree that it should just allow 35% film on the front and any on the rear, but that simply is NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.


Do you know that the legislative has TRIED for years to ban all window film? That has been very close many times. This is a very nice compromise.

Absolutely right lildetails. The bill to fine tinters was going regardless, I didn't even KNOW about it till I got down there. Any of you idiots that complain about this law.....go try and change it your fking self and see how far you get. Good fking luck! The industry and dealers in this state for the most part have been sitting on their azz waiting for some miracle to come by and make some ideal law. Guess what, thanks to a few people, you got about as close to ideal as you'll EVER see. Enjoy, and your fking welcome!

ok i understand it better now, and that is fair. sorry for the confusion, i just wasn't getting that there are different ways you can go about how you want to do it now, black out in the rear and no tint up front or the 35% all around sounds nice. now i understand how its going down. when is this going to take affect in IL?

Around the middle of October. I'll say it again for those that don't get it. If we weren't there, and going through all the crap, stress, money, and time off of work, you would have a bill fining both customers AND tinters for putting ANYTHING on the front doors. Basically making it impossible to make a living in this industry in this state in the automotive end. It just really pisses me off when dealers complain about ANY part of the bill, when a few hard working people basically saved any hope of their future.

i would be pissed off too...good work OT....Glad to see there are ppl out there that care about the industry to fight for their lively hood..because you know the new generation is/was raised to not give a %&$#..and all they think about is money.

OT... i work for Jim House (the owner of Midwest).. been there almost 3 yrs now.. i'm on your side of the fence HAHA...

Jim told me that he spent $50k of his own money back in the day trying to fight the current law that we have... when Peoria added their crappy part (about fining the shop) he went to all the town hall meetings etc. and wrote letters and made phone calls to complain about it and try to block that part as well... no luck... now i'm certain he's trying to campaign for the new law as well to help keep things moving in some sort of positive direction.. it's absurd i tell ya...

he'd let us put 35% on fronts and 20% on rear but no darker before the city ordinance.. NOW.. we put nothing on fronts. and he's NEVER been ok putting limo on much of anything but a squad car K-9 .. he doesn't feel it's safe..

so those are my limitations as well..

we can only hope for some positive changes.. AND i did read that factory privacy glass COLD have light film on the fronts.. but anything darker than 35% (roughly) on the rear would disqualify any front filming...

I talked to Jim and he was a help early on, although he honestly thought I had zero chance of getting this far just like everyone else. Can't blame him though, he went through the process like you said, and realized how extremely difficult a proposition this was. That is why anyone who complains is going to hear it from me, and not in a good way. It was against all odds, and our little team did it, it's more amazing to me probably than anyone because I saw the looks on peoples faces that very first day in the Committee meeting in Springfield. Smirks, shrugs, and the "you're an idiot if you think you can actually do this" looks. I can't elaborate much, but Jim House gave me a big heads up on a certain matter.....and only I really know and can appreciate what a big deal his little heads up was. He was definitely a key player, I owe him one. I'll stop by Peoria and have a few drinks with you boys when this is done for sure.

You bring your old butt to peoria and i'll get u dinner and a or 2 at old chicago on the river...GREAT pizza and several hundred beers... OH MAN they got good stuff... Thanks for everything you're doing now, and everything you've done.. i can appreciate everything Jim's done in the past even though he got kicked down.. (back then) and trying to fight Peoria too on the ordinance thing only to get kicked in the teeth...

we'll have to see how it shakes down OT...

I know what House has done and tried to do. That's why he knew certain things that would have blind-sided me and everyone else. To be perfectly honest, I had no idea what the hell I was doing. Thank God a few people did.

Dave did an outstanding job on talking to the FOP, and the state police. He had the patients to listen to them and to explain what we were after (while I went out to the hall to blow off steam). They found Dave to be sincere, and creitable. After many phone calls, Dave got the chance to do a demo for all in Springfield (which was a HUGH turning point in the whole thing). This bill has been a "roller coaster" ride the whole way. We all owe this grumpie "Old Tinter" that my wife calls "Sun Shine", a big THANKS.

sun shine? seems fitting

GUS.. nice to see ya

i'll say a big thanks to both you and OT.. and anyone else that's not on the board.. hopefully things will shake down in our favor this time. i'm looking forward to it. and NEXT time you'all have a project like this, lemme know.. i'd love to get involved

P.S. if u come down to peoria w/ Dave sometime, i'll buy ya both a (sunshine... PFFFT )

Hi, the laws current status is 10/15/2009 House Override Amendatory Veto - House Passed 107-008-000 Just wondering what this means. Thanks, Jason.

hopefully something gets changed here soon, that would be really nice for everyone in illinois

so it passed right?

yes it did

Yep, after 30 years of bullcrap, tinting is now legal in Illinois on the front doors as long as the back isn't darker than 35(which can be put all around), or 30%(which will allow 50% on the front doors). Enjoy!

Nice job Dave.

yeah...pretty cool how somone as insignificant as dave can make such a huge difference for so many people and businesses.

I love you dave I'm so glad that all of your hard work was able to get this passed and make so many of us happy. Thanks for your hard work.

You are welcome. And yes..I am still, and will always be...insignificant.
Also, it was way more than just me obviously...not many, but a good team of people working relentlessly and not giving up, most of whom were much smarter than me.

Hey Dave, is there going to be any issue with the wording on this when the "rear" sections state the VLT but does not state that it is FILM where the front say FILM?? I have thought this from the first time reading but kept my mouth shut.

I know it is SUPPOSED to be the film, but we know that the factory glass is normally going to have the light 70% range VLT....and if you add a film that will change it...with the actual wording on the front being film and the rear not having that wording...

The SUV part technically isn't legal until we get the trailer bill through in January. Basically ANY vehicle with factory privacy glass will be allowed 50% on the front doors. Technically, there is a +/- 5% variance in all percentages, add to that the +/- 2% for the meter, and it covers the 35% film which would meter around 28% or about 16% on factory privacy glass. I think..... The whole SUV/privacy glass thing was really difficult to hammer down, so it's not perfect, and it was a major headache, trust me. If no privacy glass, all percentages(including trucks and SUVs) revert back to the passenger car area of the law. But if you put a film on with the same percentage as factory privacy glass on say an SUV, you'll be fine...I think, again. It's total chaos I know, but it will keep tinters tinting in Illinois and that's all that really matters, right?

Is all I have to say about this.

Gus here, he did alot of work on this also, more than he's getting credit for. Without his cars, and his"people" getting his cars to the demos, who knows what would have happened. Not to mention all the other stuff. Might as well mention most of the people I knew that worked hard on this, because people read this stuff and will crucify me if I don't mention their names ..... Suzi Bassi my state rep,and her great staff... Matt Murphy, Senate sponsor, also from my town, Tony Zak(rep), Kassie Whooten (more than likely misspelled...again)(lawyer) and Sal Abatte(GM) from CP/Llumar, Scott fom midco tint in Chicago, Steve Williams, Lynwood Buttner(IWFA) and the most important people...Darrin Clark and Tim Becker from the Illinois State Police who went through unbelievable amount of crap to support us and this bill. An amazing effort from all of the above.

finally illinois drivers gets to enjoy some legalized tint, even if its 50% its better than nothing at all

I just wanted to extend my THANKS to all of you on here who have worked so hard over the last serveral months to get our law changed to be more in line with other states. I am just a consumer who has been following the forums for the past few months patiently waiting and because of all of you, we can now have 35% on the entire car, which is awesome. Hell, 50% would have been ok too. I travel to Iowa alot because of family, and having tint on the front doors now when snow is on the ground will help so much.

Let's just hope everyone will keep things legal!

Might wait a couple of weeks until I get re tinted though. Let the cops absorb the new change

Thanks again

On behalf of all those who worked to get it done...You are welcome.

It always starts out that way but in the end the Legislature gets involved again and it starts all over again.

Ride the wave while it lasts.

So I am reading the new law, which our local state officer dropped off, and I have some questions...does this law make it illegal for a shop to tint the car or for the owner of the car to drive it with illegally tinted windows?

I am asking because I am confused and I want to explain it the best I can to my customers, if someone wants 15% all the way around on their car is it illegal for me as a tinter to do it? Or just for that person who owns the vehicle to operate it?

I know for certain that the one bill passed that will make it Illegal for us to put the tint on as of Jan 01, 2010. The one that just passed and is effective now is to allow us to put tint on the cars....35% and 35% or 30 and 50 or 50 on the front of MPV's with FACTORY tinted rears

ah okay, do you have the law # or copy of it? Thanks and get back to work!

Don't mean to sound like an azz, but why in the hell would you want to tint 15% all around for some idiot? Mentality like that from shops around the state and I can pretty much guarantee a fast trip back to the "good ole days" of nothing but hoopties and limo tint and no front doors. Unreal. For the first time ever you can tint the front doors legally in Illinois after much hard work, and it's still not enough for some people. Beyond ridiculous!

I guess tint shops as a rule really are dumber than I thought. You've been given an opportunity to run a legitimate business, with a bright future, your client base has just increased by God knows how many %, and yet there are those that want to jeopardize ALL of that for a few bucks? Absolutely mind boggling. Beyond belief.

Muchos Grassy-a$$ dave (et. al)

and bring you old self down here so we can have a cuz you ain't golfin again this year HAHA

Jim was out hanging up banners .. he said "... so you got some job security"

we still have the city ordinance to get past down here. LOL.. now the state says its legal to film the fronts, but Peoria won't allow us to tint legally i love 'government' LOL..

agian, many thanks to Dave, Gus and the 'crew' for tirelessly working to help us all out..

who knows, maybe this new legislation will help to set an example for other states to follow...

again, thanks

We were a shop that followed the law, and we lost $2,000+ a month to other tinters in our area who would tint anything and any %. So to survive we did start tinting all the way around. With this new law, it will be legal to tint a certain way, but the other shops in the area will probably not follow the law at all. So our choice as a shop is to do it or not eat.

I don't know how biz is done in Chicago, but around here cops don't pull over or give that many tint tickets. So we will be the only shop following the rules. And I am sure no one on here has ever tinted illegally...

We also do tons of municipal work and most of the cops even get their windows done illegally. Not to mention this new law is going to require tint meters and I will bet that our local police and some of of our state boys won't get meters anytime soon, they have to get grants to afford raincoats around here.

Also, to assume that we are a "dumb" shop is quite rude. So I would like to know how you as a businessman are going to make sure your competetion follows the law? We appreciate that you spent a lot of your time and energy in this law, but there are a lot of laws, and just because it is a law, doesn't mean that it will be enforced to the fullest extent. I speed everyday and I have never gotten a speeding ticket...

Ahh...so because in your mind everyone else does it so it's ok? Don't complain when the $500 fines start piling up for installing illegally. Do you honestly believe yourself when you say tint illegal or don't eat? If other shops are blatantly abusing your ability to make a living, 1 phone call would go a lot further then jumping down the same road. It's just a really lame excuse that's been used over and over in this industry, and the main reason we have so many issues. Nobody is going to tell you what to do, but putting it out on a public forum that you are ready willing and able to tint however dark the customer wants might not be such a good idea. Plus...You are missing the point that you now have such a bigger potential base of customers, and that is obvious, that catering to that type customer has no base in how much you potentially can make compared to 1 week ago. It's total nonsense. I'd guess 95% of customers are THRILLED with being able to tint legally 35% all around. Don't try and say that last 5% is going to make or break you. Also...there is speeding and there is going 100mph in 30 mph zone. 15% all around is blatant to say the least. With the new law, that will stick out like a sore thumb. But hey, if your local cops don't care and it's an illegal free for all down there, knock yourself out. When they repeal the law don't biotch about it though.

I didn't say my shop was going to tint illegally, and the 15% tint thing you are stuck on was just an example...you are too quick to assume the worst about me and very ready to fight about it. And the 95% of ppl are thrilled about it might be a stretch...I am sure some are happy about it and some don't care either way...I can also tell you from experience that we will lose more than your "5%" amount of our customers. But you didn't answer how you were gonna deal with your competetion? If the phone call is the answer you are thinking will work I honestly doubt it will work.

I don't quite understand your quick and pissy comments tho, I am a part of this forum because I try to do things right and educate myself on the industry and the ppl involved with it. I have been a part of this forum since we opened our doors and I consider myself to be a good citizen and biz owner. Window tinting is not all that we do so I am sure that we will be fine, but window tinting is a decent part of our income. I doubt if anyone is going to speak up on this, but a lot of us have babies to feed and bills to pay, so if some guy up the street takes food out of my mouth and money out of my pockets, I am going to have to make some hard decisions.

You make it sound like it's impossible to talk people out of illegal tint. I've been doing it for a long time and it's not that difficult. If you can't see the big picture, and want to threaten your livelihood, and others when you could easily survive and thrive without the nonsense and knuckleheads, good luck. You might lose 10% if you are really bad at explaining the situation, but you are pulling from a pool of well beyond 10% of potential customers than you had just 1 week ago. If you don't care about the longevity of the film business, go ahead and find every excuse in your mind to justify it.

Hello, & thanks to all who made the new laws happen.

I bought a new car under cash for clunkers, & have been waiting for the new laws.





This is a 2009 Honda Fit. NO factory tint anywhere.

Can I legally tint the small glass area ahead of the front passenger doors?

Hello, & thanks to all who made the new laws happen.

I bought a new car under cash for clunkers, & have been waiting for the new laws.




This is a 2009 Honda Fit. NO factory tint anywhere.

Can I legally tint the small glass area ahead of the front passenger doors?

Just asking ....but from how you stated about the MPV vehicles and how they are alowed the 50% only, this makes it illegal even with the new change to do any factory tinted vehicle out there with 50% ?? or will that modified later on so that we can do it??