Most people spend their Sunday morning reading the newspaper over a cup of coffee, or attending church, having brunch or spending some quality time with their family.

This past Sunday, a group of people in the Pilsen neighborhood, spent their morning fighting a pack of tow trucks that had been dispatched to tow their cars and ruin their weekend.

According to Antar, a resident on that block, No Parking signs were posted Saturday, on one side of the 2200 W. block of 18th Place to insure the block was clear for an event at St. Ann’s Church the next day.

Antar explained he had moved his vehicle to the opposite side of the street, where there weren’t any signs,  so he would not have to worry about moving his car in the morning, when the temporary parking ban went into effect at 8 AM Sunday.

But instead of waking to the smell of coffee and the sounds of chirping of birds, Antar woke to the screaming and yelling of his neighbors and the beautiful sound of the winching of cars onto flatbed tow trucks.

People in the street were shouting to their neighbors that tow trucks were towing ALL vehicles off the street despite the lack of proper signage.

“I raced to my keys trying to save my vehicle and looked at the time and it was only 7:59am–no joke,” explained Antar. “There was five to six E&R tow trucks racing in our block that is a cul-de-sac, blocking the entrance and hauling two cars at a time in flat beds.  Six cars were taken and as the residents came out, one young man jumped on the flat bed demanding his car.”

Antar says that six cars were spirited away to the autopound initially, and then another batch of cars were being loaded up as angry neighbors started confronting the tow truck drivers and city employees. One young man jumped into his car after it had been loaded onto the flatbed tow truck.

District 012 police were called to the scene to calm the situation as tempers were flaring between the vehicle owners and city employees.

Antar explains the police actually sided with the residents and instructed the Streets and Sanitation employees and Traffic Management Authority tow truck drivers to release the cars on the tow trucks that were already loaded or still in the process of being loaded. St. Ann’s Church personnel also stepped in and asked that the neighbors car not be towed.

Antar says he has it on good authority that word has come down that Streets and Sanitation employees needed to start producing revenue or face possible layoffs when Daley finally starts axing jobs to cut costs for his $450 million budget deficit.

This can be the only logical explanation, as what else would explain this overly aggressive towing? This is a church block party. It’s not rush hour parking. Better judgment would be to relocate the cars around the corner, NOT ticket the vehicle then tow it to the autopound which costs the driver another $115 or so. This type of over the tow truck revenue generation leaves a very bad taste in the mouths of citizens.

Antar wanted me to make sure to thank the District 012 officers who showed up for making sure Streets & San didn’t did a total screw job on the neigborhood.

Antar even passed on a tip from one of the police officers on the scene Sunday.

“If you come out while they are towing your car, just sit in it and they cannot, by law
tow it away,” he said.

I have to agree with Antar–kudos to the District 012 police.