These are some of the nasty, creepy words Illinois rejected for vanity license plates
“We love the creativity and pride Illinoisans take in choosing their personalized license plates,” Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’s office said.
“PEEPEE” and “GOTPOOP” and “SUKIT” did not make the cut.
They are among the nearly 400 customized license plates that the Illinois secretary of state’s office rejected because they were considered nasty, rude or downright offensive.
“We love the creativity and pride Illinoisans take in choosing their personalized license plates,” Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’s office said in a Monday news release, the Chicago Tribune reports. “Most plate requests are approved, but a small percentage fail to meet the standards of good taste and decency and are rejected because they violate the state’s vehicle code.”
Several politicians also were the target of vulgar submissions, including President Joe Biden, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the Daily Herald reports.
The secretary of state, run last year by now-retired Jesse White, keeps an “ever-growing” list of over 7,000 rejected plates, the office said, according to the Tribune. The Vehicle Services Department reviews the submissions for customized plates and when the requests are denied, drivers are given an opportunity to rebut the decision for overturning.
According to Giannoulias, 922,147 personalized plates were issued in Illinois, WICA reports.
“There is a small group from our Vehicle Services Department that review requests with an eye out for anything tawdry, lewd or offensive,” said Henry Haupt, a spokesman for the secretary of state’s office, the Daily Herald reports. “If a request is declined, it automatically goes on the rejection list.”
According to Haupt, “The number of requests was abnormally high during the COVID-19 pandemic when more people were spending their days at home.”
In 2021, 572 vanity plate requests were rejected and 499 were denied in 2020.
Vanity plates cost $94 more than standard license plates, plus $13 for renewal each year, according to the Tribune. Last year, over 54,000 customized license plate requests were reportedly submitted.
Let me show you the door, “SUCKER, “KISSAS,” BITEU, “WHTHFUK,” “WMWWWMW” and “HAIILNO, WICA reports.
