Friendly Reminders From A Parking Enforcement Aide
Parking Enforcement Aides (PEAs) are the city employees who tirelessly patrol the streets of Chicago, writing out those bright orange tickets we all love to hate.
But today, we have long time contributor and a great friend to the website, PEA Ticketmaster, with some seriously great, timely reminders and advice for readers on how to avoid getting a parking ticket.
So, I cannot stress this enough, if Ticketmaster says something, LISTEN UP!!!
Hello PTG and Everyone,
Just wanted to offer some friendly reminders to your readers:
1. Tuesday is June 30th, that means on Wednesday July 1st we will be ticketing vehicles with license plates with June 2009 expiration dates. There is no “15 day grace period” on license plates (like there is with city stickers).
2. July 15th (the last day of the city sticker grace period) is coming real fast, so make sure to get purchase your city sticker and residential permits by that date.
3. If you have any of the orange visitor passes left, throw a party, have some friends come over, because on July 16th they will expire, and only the new blue ones will be honored.
Basically: Use them or lose them.
4. Remember, your city sticker actually has to be affixed to your window. Placing your sticker on a plastic sheet or encasing in some sort of shield, tape, casing and attaching it to the windshield does not count, and you can be ticketed.
5. Most important of all: If you have purchased your sticker, please actually put it on. It does no good sitting in your wallet, purse, glove box, on the night stand, or wherever you choose to keep it.
On July 16th, if we don’t see that sticker affixed to the window, we will ticket your vehicle and the ticket will include photos of the violation. You then get to have the honor of explaining to a hearing officer, if you purchased the sticker, why you didn’t put it on the windshield.
Kind Regards
Ticketmaster
Thanks to Ticketmaster for the head’s up. GREAT advice!
If you still need to renew your Illinois license plates by the end of the month, either hit a Secretary of State location or run into your neighborhood Currency Exchange. It will cost an extra $5 or so at the Currency Exchange, but it may be worth it.
If you still need to get your city sticker, you still have time to purchase it online and get it mailed to you before the end of the July 15th grace period. Or if you enjoy pain, you can wait in line for hours at a city payment facility to get your city sticker.
If you want your city sticker right away, with little or no waiting, again checkout your local Currency Exchange.
That’s just Prime
Before this version of the parking sticker, I see why it made sense to ban the sticker shields. But now that our parking stickers have our license plate # on them, the city should consider allowing the shields. Hell, the city would probably tax ‘em!
I agree with Pete. It only makes sense if your windshield is damaged and you have to replace it. It’s not fair to have to get a new sticker since it’s the same vehicle!
And, of course, the city system is down so that the currency exchanges cannot process the sticker applications today. And the currency exchanges are telling people that they will get a ticket unless they buy it today (the 30th) so they should leave their money and pick up the sticker after 7 pm. I got the same story from three different ones.
It’s not about the sticker, it’s about the money. Really this is a “I own a car in Chicago tax”. By that logic it should be like property tax, you send in your payment every year and be done with it. But guess what? The city is smart and figured out that with stickers, you can catch people who haven’t paid yet, ticket them ($120), make them get a city sticker ($75), AND make them pay a late fee ($40). More money for the corrupt government. Isn’t that sweet!
Thanks for the reminder! When I read this yesterday at midnight I realized, yet again, that June only has 30 days and Tuesday was now today. When I went to the Currency Exchange to get my license sticker it was no sticker for you. Apparently the State of Illinois computers were all down so I have to try again on July 1 and hope no PEA meanders around my hood. I realize that I shouldn’t procrastinate but … like the old saying … why do something today that you can put off until tomorrow. I had this stupid letter from Jessie White sitting by my computer for more than a month where I could have easily just browsed and paid yet I did nothing. Every year the Currency Exchange bails me out on June 30 except for this year.
Hello Mark,
If it’s any consolation, Mrs. TM did it to me three years in a row. This year, I made sure that she had the plate sticker in time.
ACTUALLY, friendly PEA person, the state of Florida does have a 15 day grace period for expired license plates. So, technically, the state will not issue tickets or fines for 15 days after the last day of your expiring month. The City of Chicago doesn’t see it this way. They’re enforcing their rules on a non-resident, and overriding the non-resident’s home state. Gotta love the City! I will NEVER register my car to the state of Illinois. 90 days be damned. I don’t want my car or myself even remotely associated with Chicago’s taint.