There have been a few recent and impending changes to parking enforcement in Chicago and the expectation of increased enforcement on the horizon.
Here’s a digest of the latest Chicago enforcement news to keep drivers up to date.
PEAs Enforcing More Violations
Ticketmaster and DoR Employee, both Parking Enforcement Aides (PEAs) for the city and frequent contributors to this website, are reporting that PEAs are now being allowed to write tickets for a litany of parking violations that before now, were only issued by the cops.
Here’s the list of violations:
- Expired plates on out of state vehicles
- Smoked/tinted windows
- Parking more than 12 inches from curb/wrong direction (excluding cul de sac’s)
- Motorcycles/scooters required to park 90 degree angle or diagonal on a curb
- Parked outside diagonal markings
- Abandoned vehicle; not moved in 7 days
- Failure to pay at pay box/lot; outside of designated space in city lot
- Outside metered space (only if there are old style meters and lines on the ground)
- Lamps broken/missing
- Rear view mirror required
- Parked on city property
- Failure to display TV news permit
The most important thing to take away from this information is that Chicago drivers need to drive and park more intelligently. Be wary of where and how you park. Make sure you are parked legally and your vehicle is in compliance.
The DOR is also, reportedly, exploring whether to allow PEAs to enforce “no front plate” violations for out of state vehicles.
The only problem with this is, every state has different laws regarding the necessity of a front plate. In Illinois, every vehicle MUST have a front and back plate.
In Indiana and Michigan, the front plate is optional.
One could see a lot of confusion and improperly issued tickets on this particular violation.
LAZ Enforcement Rumor
Word on the street is that LAZ is getting ready to begin their meter enforcement efforts again.
If you recall, back in March when the parking meter transition (from the city to Chicago Parking Meters, LLC/LAZ Parking), began spiraling out of control with broken meters, vandalized meters, meters with inconsistent information, etc., the company allegedly “voluntarily” agreed to suspend enforcement until they got their act together.
You see, per the parking meter lease agreement, CPM/LAZ has the ability to use their own personnel to write expired meter violations.
But now that LAZ has really turned things around and seems to have corrected most, if not all of the original problems, one expects LAZ enforcement to begin writing tickets again sooner than later.
Several sources within the Department of Revenue claim LAZ enforcement is set to go back to work very soon.
Although, official city spokespeople will not confirm this rumor.
“CPM and LAZ are not presently issuing parking meter violations,” says Dept. of Revenue spokesperson Ed Walsh via e-mail. “They wrote 110 tickets before voluntarily suspending enforcement in March. That status has not changed.”
Curbside Change
You may have not noticed, but there has been a subtle change to the instructions on Pay & Display receipts as far as dashboard placement.
Originally, you were supposed to pay for parking, wait for your receipt to print and then place it on the driver’s side dashboard.
Now, new receipts are instructing you to place it on the dashboard side adjacent to the curb. This means, it gets placed on the passenger side on traditional two-way streets, and on a one-way street, which ever side is next to the curb.
This change is reportedly to improve safety for enforcement, who before the change, had to wade out into the street to check for expired receipts on the driver’s side.
In that regard, it’s obviously a positive move.
Unfortunately, this will mean another change to instructions on the pay boxes which still instruct drivers to place the receipt on the driver’s side.
Unfortunately, this will mean another change to instructions on the pay boxes which still instruct drivers to place the receipt on the driver’s side.
In the meantime, Parking Enforcement Aides (PEAs) and other parking enforcers, are being instructed to look anywhere on the dashboard and to even check if receipts are taped to rearview mirrors.
If you are accidentally ticketed, even though you were paid up and have the receipt to prove it, just contest it by mail and send a copy of your receipt and an explanation of the situation. There should be no way you lose.
Changes To City Sticker Enforcement
There has been a recent and minor change to the municipal code regarding enforcement of city stickers. A few years ago, the city council passed a law that allowed ticket writers to enter public parking garages/lots licensed by the city, to enforce city sticker violations.
But now, it seems the code has been recently changed to include ANY parking lot, under the assumption you used the public way to arrive at this parking lot. Here’s the code.
There shall be a presumption that any vehicle parked in any public garage, as defined in Chapter 4-232, or any parking lot open to pedestrian traffic, used the public ways to arrive at its location.
This means, even parked in the lot at McDonald’s getting your Dollar Menu fix for the day, you can get ticketed for a city sticker violation.
New Guy over at Street Ops
The Department of Revenue has a new Street Operations (aka parking enforcement) Czar. Again, the grapevine is saying he is reviewing everything within that department to “increase coverage and productivity.” Uh-oh.
How The Budget Deficit Will Effect Enforcement
In the past several weeks, more information keeps coming out regarding the ever increasing city budget deficit. The Daley administration estimates that, despite a huge budget deficit for 2009 that was only partially filled by the proceeds from the meter lease deal, we’re in store for another $500+ million deficit in 2010.
Obviously, this is bad news in general. But drivers need to be even more wary than everyone else. One way to help plug that budget hole is going to be through increased enforcement. As you can see from this article, it’s already begun. So, don’t be surprised as the intensity of enforcement continues to grow.
For example, currently, enforcement on weekends is relatively lax. My expectation would be to expect this to change for the worse on both the ticketing and booting front.
Start Of The Month Reminder…
The always kind and thoughtful Ticketmaster reminds everyone, today is September 1st.
If you’re plate sticker expired yesterday, make sure you dash out to a Currency Exchange or a Secretary of State location and get it renewed today!
Because a ravenous pack of ticket hungry PEAs will be out today looking for your the expired tags on your vehicle.
Posted in 
Well lets see…
To Short Shanks…
To DOR…
To LAZ…
May all of you fuck off and die!
Hugs and kisses,
IP
So…questions…
Will anyone who writes tickets be given a list of states that do not require front plates? This is a lttle absurd, isn’t it?
I thought broken or missing lamps was a moving violation?
Is the parking lot allowance just for city stickers? Or can they now go into any lot and write tickets for license plates, tinted windows, etc?
I am still unclear on how anyone is suppose to know that a car belongs to a resident of Chicago or not. I know several towns that do not require village stickers. Is it just assumed if you are in the city and don’t have a sticker, that you are a city sticker scofflaw?
I still don’t get why LAZ is writing tickets anyway – they don’t get the ticket money, the city does. So why would they agree to write tickets?
And I have always been confused how the city can claim a car that hasn’t been moved in 7 days is abandoned. How do they know if a car hasn’t been moved in 7 days? I can imagine they have memories that remember each and every car they pass to realise it hasn’t been moved in a week. How do they confirm this?
So many questions, and so little – if any – answers.
Greg, I’m with you on the issue of broken lamps, but I’d take it even farther: if someone is PARKED during DAYLIGHT on a SUNNY day, what’s the problem with a broken headlight?
I also don’t get the 12″ from the curb. Most residential streets were at one time two-way streets, so they are at least 10 feet wider than they need to be for one-way traffic. Cars encroaching another foot (or four) on each side won’t impede traffic. In fact, it could help to slow folks down to the speed limit.
Re: LAZ writing tickets, I imagine it’s to instigate compliance so that they get the meter revenue.
And I think the city should worry about cars exceeding the time limit before they worry about abandoned cars. If a car is truly abandoned and the neighborhood cares, it will get called in to 311 and taken care of.
How can they ticket for tinted windows? I have Missouri plates and totally legal. That seems illegal to ticket me for this. How can they do this? I would love an actual answer that will hold up in court (ha, if you can get it).
\thanks
Re: parking more than 12 inches from curb, they could have a field day enforcing that one during wintertime on Chicago’s under-plowed side streets.
here’s a nice LAZ story. parked my car, went to LAZ machine to get my ticket and the machine gives me a ticket with a time of 9:48am instead of 10:48am. now i have to walk a couple blocks to another parking machine for a new ticket. i call LAZ to report this problem and request a credit to my debit card and the LAZ employee proceeds to tell me that i do not get a refund because i could have put my 9:48am ticket on my dash after calling about the broken meter. I am not going to trust the parking aids, is she serious? i would get a ticket and then have to waste my time fighting it. FUCK U LAZ.
I walked past a couple PEA’s on Southport, one was reminding the other to check license plates because it was 9/1.
CR….process a Charge Back with your CC company for improper rendering of service.
m.dot: Illinois law for Tint on Illinois plated vehicles only.
Headlights; Depressed or Dimmed; required while Parked:9-76-090(c).
12″ from the curb/Wrong Direction:
Vehicles parked on any Non-Cul de Sac facing the wrong direction can be ticketed.
We are not going to be whipping out a tape measure and citing ya’ll for 13 inches. It’s got to be blatantly obvious before we are going to nail you for that one.
And back to Tint/Smoked Windows….
Has anyone actually looked that one up?
State law makes a slight allowance depending upon the degree of darkness as proven by a calibrated Tint Meter (ISP/county agencies carry them).
City Code is more strict.
DOR -
How about the questions about 7 days = abandoned and how does anyone know if a car without a sticker is a Chicago resident or not?
Can I ask a stupid question? I just got my sticker (yes, I have September plates), and my registration says that it expires on 9/30/2010. This then means that my current sticker expires on 9/30/2009, yes? How could I be ticketed before 10/1/2009?
Jen-
You should be good. Whatever month sticker you have, expires at 11:59:59 on the last day of that month.
Your comment points out that I my photo of the license plate sticker may be a bit confusing.
I should have posted a photo of a sticker expiring August 31st. DOH! My mistake. Sorry for the confusion.
Hello Greg,
we would know because we do a plate check for vehicle registration. for the abandon vehicle ticket, there are ways for us to check.
But if the law says a car not moved for 7 days is considered abandoned, I still don’t get how you know if someone is on vacation, someone has been in the hospital, etc.
According the law, it doesn’t matter what the reason – if it doesn’t move in 7 days, it is abandoned.
How exactly does anyone know that I haven’t moved my car in 7 days. Do they stand there the whole time and watch it? Or is it assumed that if I am parked in the same spot that it hasn’t moved?
Would I be able to contest the ticket?
KC….
Municipal Code states that any and all vehicles must move at least once in a 7 day Period.
90% of cars…..they have valid city stickers…their plates are up to date…..they move for street cleaning…etc…
Its the ones that have “something” wrong with them that gets them ticketed.
For example…….a few weeks ago I was in the area around Lake Park and 52nd.
Honda Civic….Expired Plate ticket on the car from a week prior…..for the exact address it was parked at.
Who leaves a ticket on their car for more than 1 day (unless they are trying to spoof us)?
Stuff like that Helps Us Know.
one way…..or another…..we gonna gonna get you…
Personally, I think you can beat the 7 day ticket pretty easily. Outside of the example DoR gave, it comes down to your word against the ticket writer. PEAs walk miles of streets every day. They are not usually walking by the same block every day. I think it would be hard to find instances of situations where you can provide photographic proof via the AutoCITE.
A crap load of snow on the car? Obviously. Multiple tickets on the windshield? Of course. But otherwise…how do you know?
All the motorist has to do, is say they drove the car the day before, or whatever. Produce a receipt from the grocery store where you shopped with your car. Not too difficult.
But drivers…word of advice…move your car once a week! C’mon. Just pull it up to the next available open parking spot. How long does it take?!? 2 minutes! Don’t be lazy and safe yourself the hassle.
Oh, BTW, can you really check plate registration via the AutoCITE to check for city sticker violations? If not, how do you check.
I am going to post a short story about how the rental car I was driving last week, that I had parked outside my house one night, got ticketed for no city sticker. Well, the car is registered in Lombard. No city sticker needed. Ticket issued by a PEA.
WTF?!?
If they could have checked, why didn’t they?
I wrote the letter for the rental company citing the muni code and everything. Grand slam! Ticket will get dismissed!
Mike………we can check plates……..
But I’ve run into rental cars…with expired 2008-2009 city stickers on them….BAM…..ticket.
We don’t Have to run the plate for last years city sticker (if present on car with no other cities current/valid city sticker present.).
For Cars with NO Chicago City sticker…..there is a procedure that we follow…before we can issue it.
If the Plate was run….and the Computer reported that the Owner lives in Chicago…doesn’t matter where the car is registered……..its required that vehicles Owned by City Residents have a valid City Sticker….Period.
Oh…thanks for the heads up on :
There shall be a presumption that any vehicle parked in any public garage, as defined in Chapter 4-232, or any parking lot open to pedestrian traffic, used the public ways to arrive at its location.
I can’t wait to detain and press charges against a ticket writer for trespass if they enter my private parking lot.
@DoR: “Who leaves a ticket on their car for more than 1 day (unless they are trying to spoof us)?” I was out of town for a week and given a ticket for street cleaning. Hence, the ticket was on my car for more than a few days. For that matter, I suppose all those people who travel a lot for work and may be out of town for 2 weeks at a time either (1) are supposed to rent a garage space or (2) give their keys to someone so they can re-park the car every few days. You have to be kidding me. Oh, and there was that time over New Years 2008/09 when I was overseas and came back the day after a 2+ foot snowfall. My car was buried, and there wasn’t a snow shovel to be bought anywhere within the city limits. Needless to say, as snow turned to ice, my car sat in the same spot for over 3 weeks until it finally got warm enough outside and I could chip it out. I suppose I should have gotten a ticket for every day over the 7-day limit. This city rocks!
And about being able to ticket cars in any parking lot open to pedestrian traffic: Can I assume this means that if someone owned a private lot and posted NO TRESPASSING then technically it wouldn’t be open to pedestrian traffic, and therefore not ticketable? If at least this is not the case, it is a gradually declining and slippery slope until the gestapo can enter a homeowner’s private garage to ticket them because, after all, they used the public way to arrive at that location. Seriously, does the ordinance use that as a justification? God help us all if that kind of justification is legal.
Geek, I’m going to have to stop reading your site because every time I do, my blood pressure just goes up a notch and I find it just a little bit more challenging to like living in this city.
The 7-day rule awaits anyone on vacation or (like my case) a “stay-cation”. Last April during a stay-cation my car was moved to an illegal parking space and ticketed. I guess you are obligated to drive every few days at least or store it in an out-of-Chicago garage. The cranked-up enforcement I suppose id how Daley intends to pay for cost overruns for the 2016 Steroid Developers’ Convention aka Olympics.
Daley wants everyone to ride bicycles like he does. It sure don’t show on his (cough) physique! Maybe he wants some of the Latest Greatest undetectable steroids the Olympic freaks of nature use.
Anon:
Daley has Desk duty Sgts drive him and his family around in Mplates…….M8800 on a Black unmarked.
Last time that mook drove himself was when his daddy told him he’d never be half the crook he was.
And Justin……..I’m suprised you were not Towed for the Snow Route restriction of “No Parking when 2 or more Inches of Snow.”
And yup….we could have ticketed you every day past number 7………the fact that we didn’t shows you how gentle we can be.
And read it again:
There shall be a presumption that any vehicle parked in any public garage, as defined in Chapter 4-232, or any parking lot open to pedestrian traffic, used the public ways to arrive at its location.
If you have to access the lot via a City Street or City Alley…your butt is at risk.
Now as to WHEN they will start telling us to jaunt into these locations…….Up to Director of PEA.
City Clerks office already does it.
Unless it is an ultralight airplane or helicoptter in the parking space.
DoR-
In regards to 2″ snow ban, according to Matt Smith, spokesperson for Streets & San, the ban only goes into effect when they announce it. If it is not announced, than it is not enforceable according to him.
Last year, there were no 2″ snow bans announced.
Also, the idea that someone from the city can come on to private property (not a business parking lot) and ticket a car is reprehensible.
I don’t care if there’s access to it. It’s still trespassing. If the city decides to encourage enforcement of ticketing and booting on private property, they are going to catch hell via lawsuits.
If anyone has a story like that and you fight it and DON’T win, contact me and I’ll help mount a legal effort.
Private property is private property.
What’s next? Busting into our garages to check if we have a city sticker or not?!?
Anyone heard of the Constitution?
Hello PTG,
Part of the 2in snow ban is also up to each individual alderman. In all my years, I have never been given the order to enforce it.
I also have to agree with you as far as private residential property goes. Besides trespassing and a violation of the constitution, can you imagine the liability issue if we were to get injured? So while Management has done some stupid things, I would say it may be extremely reasonable that we won’t be going onto residential private property anytime soon. However,let me ask you this: Is it fair for me, you and everyone else to buy a a city sticker, only to see some scofflaw not buy it because they can park their car in a garage. I don’t like buying the city sticker either, however like filing your taxes, it is required. As far as the Constitution goes, I don’t believe anyone in Management has ever read it (perhaps they have, and just don’t comprehend it), especially considering the are instructing us not to blog.
OK, Ticketmaster, I’ll bite. At the rate things are going, sooner or later you’ll end up being instructed to trespass. If you do so, you’ll find some property owner who’ll press charges and try to get you thrown into jail. You’ll follow that order at your own peril. Do not try it. (and no, I’m not a property owner)
I have a next door neighbor who has parked her car in front of my house for the past two weeks. This neighbor has three cars and refuses to park any of her cars in her double driveway. The car is never moved and it makes it difficult to sit my garbage cans out front for garbarge pickup. Our block does not have an ally so any garbage or debris is put out front near the curb. This spiteful display by my neighbor is really a neighbor conflict, but what I wanted to know is does the 7 day car abandonment violation apply to this situation. Can the neighbor’s car be ticketed if the car never moves from it’s spot for more than seven days?
OK – so this is both a question of how to contest as well as evidence of PEAs getting antsy:
I parked on the street to grab some groceries and take care of a few errands. As I was walking into the store, I saw a Chicago poilce officer on a bike stop at my car on the driver’s side. I walked back out (as I had my LAZ receipt in my window) but it turned out he had noticed my license plate sticker was expired.
So he taped the ticket to my driver’s side window. Fine. My bad. I’ll take my lumps.
But when I got back to my car after shopping, there was a second ticket under my windshield on the passenger side from a PEA for the exact same thing! Two tickets in 30 minutes?
It seems contesting in person is the best route to go – but any suggestions? Or comments on the double ticketing???
DejaWHAT!
Here’s what you do.
Contest both tickets at the same time.
Admit you were guilty on the first. But when the second ticket is heard immediately after the first, explain the situation to the hearing officer. He or she will see the date and times on the two tickets and based on your testimony should dismiss the second on the grounds that you cannot be ticketed for that violation more than once in a 24 hour period.