CBS 2 Catches City Of Chicago Vehicles Behaving Badly
CBS 2 news producer Ed Marshall has been noticing a lot of City of Chicago vehicles parking illegally in tow zones lately.
Not surprisingly, none of these vehicles ever seem to get parking tickets or towed.
Anyone else parked this way would be ticketed and potentially towed for these type of infractions. A costly proposition for the common man who dares park in defiance of the law and posted signs, as the fine for parking in a tow zone is $75 and a tow to the auto pound will set you back $165.
The lack of parking enforcement on city owned vehicles is not that shocking. Ticket writers almost universally look the other way when colleagues in other departments park illegally. It’s the vehicular version of the Chicago way or some might say a great example of “Do as I say, but not as I do.”
Marshall asked the humble Parking Ticket Geek to tag along with CBS 2′s Mike Parker in search of some of these scofflaws.
It took less than two minutes.
At the corner of Washington and Wells, we spotted a Chicago Department of Transportation vehicle parked in a tow zone ($75 fine) but also partially blocking the crosswalk ($60 fine).
Of course, this vehicle was just one of many city vehicles we found parking illegally around the Loop.
Parker and his cameraman end up waiting patiently for the driver to return to the car and pounce on him immediately to get his side of the story.
The CDOT scofflaw strode away from the camera without comment.
Here’s CBS 2′s full report, “No Tow, No Ticket For City Vehicles Parked Illegally.”
Amazing
If a city vehicle is being used to conduct city business then who cares really. Now if the city vehicle was parked illegally so the city worker assigned to the vehicle goes to lunch then I can see raising a stink about it. CBS 2….come on now, this is news? Displaced New Yorkers, the Election and rampant crime in Chicago and you wait for an hour to NOT talk to a city worker? NEXT!!
Bootman is right! Where did Mike Parker park? Did they find a “spot” at all the places they visited? NOT! What about UPS,USPS,FEDEX and so on. Is it the “get the city worker” syndrome? Slow news day? Are the city workers using parking that we should own anyway? So,they got LAZ for a few bucks! Good for them! We have a bike friendly city, a clean city, a well lit city all because of city workers! Give them a break.
When I go to court, at the Daley Center, in my squad car parking legal or otherwise is a challenge. The reality is most of us end up parking wherever we can. I try to leave metered spots to those who have to pay because I’m not paying to park a squad car when I’m doing the city’s business. However, I don’t think that is really appreciated. People have made comments when I was in the west loop area during NATO or in Hyde Park at various times. The guy in the west loop got angry and threatened to take a picture.
I would rather they park illegally (though not blocking the crosswalk) to leave the legal spots open for regular people.
Len,
Actually, the CBS 2 vehicle was parked in a legal, metered spot on Washington. I know because I was the one who fed the meter.
As far as city workers, why should they not park legally? Why can’t the city provide a parking garage for their vehicles or give employees a daily budget to pay for parking? Why do they get a pass and everyone else has to pay or pay the price and get ticketed and towed? Why should there be 2 sets of rules?
In my opinion, the only city vehicles that get a pass are emergency vehicles, and cops.
Delivery vehicles also should get a pass since they are, of course, delivering stuff.
Again, why should there be 2 sets of rules? Please explain.
Joe,
I kind of see your point here. I guess I appreciate that sentiment. However, aren’t tow zones in place for a reason? Meaning, there’s some purpose as far as easing traffic or promoting safety for these tow zones to exist?
If there is an actual need for city vehicles to park temporarily to do business downtown, maybe we need to designate spots or areas where city vehicles are allowed to park temporarily. We do it for police vehicles around court houses and police stations, etc.
Geek, a parking garage was provided at juvenile court on Roosevelt Rd. Up until a few years ago, officers could park there for free when attending court. Now the county charges whether we’re in squad cars or not. I refuse to do that. So we end up parking on the street over there too. Downtown near domestic court or traffic court would be a great place for a parking facility for police conducting city business but it’s prime real estate and theres no profit involved. Perhaps you see it as a pass but paying to park a squad car is not an option. I pay enough to park my own car when I’m out just like any other citizen. Enforcing the law by making arrests and writing citations is part of our job and if we miss court the Department is swift with a penalty. Why should we be penalized with parking tickets because the city won’t provide parking.
As taxpayers in Chicago, do we really want city workers wasting time and money looking for “legal” parking spots while conducting city business? Not to mention feeding a LAZ owned meter for the city vehicle? City workers having to feed meters while conducting city duties would have to be reimbursed for spending money on parking….our money. The same entity that owns those vehicles also owns the streets they are parked on. That would be like paying to park in your own driveway. I agree that some abuse it, but come on, there’s bigger fish to fry!
Hey Pamala,
Thanks for the insight.
A-You should be able to park for free if you’re in law enforcement and in court on business.
B-I am not opposed to setting aside zoned areas where law enforcement can park legally vehicles near court.
C-In general, especially with on duty police officers, I have always been supportive of letting them park wherever the hell they want. I want a cop to be able to quickly jump into their vehicle and respond to an emergency.
Even the CBS guys agreed law enforcement vehicles should get a pass. My problem is with other city agencies parking illegally. Does someone driving a vehicle from CDOT need to park illegally unless it’s involved with an emergency? I don’t think so.
That being said, the city needs to give a parking solution (space in a garage or lot) where municipal vehicles can park conveniently and cost free.
From my reading of your comment, I believe you are a police officer. Thank you for doing something I would never want to do. It’s a hard job and I have immense respect for what you do. And thanks again for the enlightening input on this subject.
Geek,”That being said, the city needs to give a parking solution (space in a garage or lot) where municipal vehicles can park conveniently and cost free”
The city does do that, it’s called a “street”. LOL
Not to sound like a smart ass, but the city owns the street as well as the vehicle.
well if that’s the case with any news crew chasing city vehicles well they need to get ready because the wolfman and his crew are going to look for them while they are parked in areas they dont belong. its like a vitamin you can have a 1 a day ticket or multi its up the that driver looking for news to report why dont the news crews go to the westside and report drug dealers on these corners dealing while CITY workers are working or children just trying to get to school safely. SO GO REPORT THAT !!!!!
hey geek you read all this stuff that your viewers write about any city worker rather it be law enforcement or fire fighters or parking enforcement,cdot etc… maybe 1 day they can give you permission to do a ride along with a supervisor or any management from REVENUE so you can see first hand on what we see and go thru on a daily basis.
As hard as I am on city workers in general, even I think this is a total non-issue. A city vehicle being driven on city business does not need to be burdened with paying for parking.
So long as they’re not blocking a fire hydrant or otherwise causing a hazard, who cares?
One of the biggest problems in this city is that everyone that works for it seems to be able to check out an unmarked M plate fleet car and use it at will. Marked city vehicles and cop cars not withstanding…how can anyone know if the m plate vehicle is actually being used for city business at that time or not?
Answer: You can’t.
Drive around the Loop any day if the week and you will see hundreds of M plates parked improperly. During rush hour for the whole 2 hours. On meters all day. In 24 hour tow zones. Around the Thompson Center in bus stops and turn lanes.
The number of marked squads are actually few in number. As for court parking…the Daley building next to city hall has an under ground parking lot that should be specifically reserved for police parking. For that matter, 001 District at 18 and State has a few huge lots that should be utilized for PO’s to park in if they have a court date and the department could set up a shuttle to/from every hour so the cops don’t have to take CTA. Furthermore, Millenium (sic) Park has parking for city vehicles and there is also a city vehicle lot near Plymouth and Van Buren that is used by Finance and the Health Department that could be utilized for city vehicles down in the Loop on business.
No non-city M Plate should ever be allowed to illegally park…Period.
No city M Plate should either unless it is CDOT, OEMC, Traffic Services, TMA or CFD/marked CPD.
It sends a double standard message.
And lest I forget.. Per department general orders; it is the responsibility of all PEA’s to enforce all vehicles regardless if plate Type at all times unless the vehicle is a Marked Police or Fire Department vehicle.
Funny you mention 001 at 18th and State. Two HUGE lots they can park in yet at any time, day or night you will ALWAYS see cars parked in the tow zone directly in front of the building. I believe thats where the cop got his Corvette booted last year.
Wolfman,
I would LOVE to ride along with someone from Revenue. Seriously. I would JUMP at the chance to do something like that. Can you hook me up?
I doubt however, anyone in Revenue management would be allowed to bring someone like me along for anything like that. But I agree it would be very educational and I would love the opportunity.
But, that being said, is your point that drivers are parking illegally everywhere–not just city workers?
If that’s one of your points, I see that too. I see the jackasses parked 2″ from a stop sign or under CTA tracks, or on a street scheduled for street cleaning. I drive EVERY day and see illegal parking EVERYWHERE. I don’t deny average people park illegally or like dimwits.
I guess I just don’t understand why the double standard is ok. I don’t get it.
If a portion of the street is designated as a tow zone, I assume there’s some sort of safety reason for that designation. If that’s the case, shouldn’t city workers be MORE conscious of NOT parking in tow zones?
Thanks for your thoughts Wolfman. Very appreciated.
VERY well said Capt. M-Plate.
If there is a necessity for for city vehicles to temporarily park in front of a city building while doing city business, then designate an area for “City Vehicles Only,” like they do for police vehicles in many parts of the city (Lower Wacker Drive at Randolph, Rockwell Ave. behind the police station at Belmont, Post Place off of Lake St., etc.).
Bootman,
Is this a huge story? Not really, not in the grand scope of what’s going on in this country right now.
Also, I think Chicagoans just expect that this type of thing goes on all the time, so it’s not really a surprise when they hear about or see this type of behavior.
hey geek if you want email me and we can discuss this more !!!!
Just look at all the illegally parked news van’s near City Hall.
The funny thing about that one is in the 150 block of N Clark there is Specific Signage for Media Permitted vehicles only…as well as at about 105 W Randolph..at at 304 S Plymouth.
I’ll bet the moron Shuttle Buses that ‘service’ Hancock and AON and all the other huge businesses in the Central Business district were blocking the ones on Clark street.