HOW THEY DO THINGS IN ILLINOIS: Oops! Clerk sends newspaper request to fix ticket.

A records clerk for an Illinois sheriff’s office admits she goofed when she mistakenly faxed a request to have a deputy’s son’s speeding ticket fixed to the local newspaper.

Joann Reed tried to use a St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department fax machine to send a copy of the ticket issued by Centreville police to that village’s attorney, only to accidentally fire off the fax to the Belleville News-Democrat (http://bit.ly/nrcf5s) newsroom.

“Dismiss this case,” read a handwritten note accompanying the three-page message signed by Reed. “The guy is the son of one of our deputies.”

Ah, professional courtesy. But read the whole thing for the rest of the story . . . .