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+--- Thread: Stung by Chicago parking - $120 - no city sticker. (/showthread.php?tid=54869)
Stung by Chicago parking - $120 - no city sticker. - volcs0 - 05-14-2008
My sister is visiting for a few weeks. She just got a $120 ticket for no city sticker. I've been looking online for the last 20 minutes, and I cannot find rules and regulations that stipulate what the law is in Chicago. Weird - when we moved here, we parked for a few weeks and never got a ticket. She was here two days and got one.
Anyone have experience in Chicago with this?
Re: Stung by Chicago parking - $120 - no city sticker. - AlphaDog - 05-14-2008
I don't have any experience in Chicago, and I won't be going there to get any, either! Wow, it's no wonder BL has such a negative view of car ownership. If I lived in Chicago, I probably wouldn't bother owning a car, either.
However, I did find this on the Chicago City Clerk's website, and it might shed some light on the parking ticket.
"Residential Parking Permit daily guest passes (which are valid for 24 hours from the time of posting), are available to area residents in packs of 15 for $5.00 per pack (limit 2). These daily guest passes also expired on June 30th. Permits can be obtained by contacting the Office of the Chicago City Clerk's Residential Permit Parking Division at 312-744-6774."
Here's the link for the above:
http://www.chicityclerk.com/residential_parking/index.html
I also saw something about appealing tickets, although it was on another page, and I can't find it again now. Under the circumstances, appealing might be your best bet.
Re: Stung by Chicago parking - $120 - no city sticker. - dmann - 05-14-2008
Yep, you need to register your car with the city and buy a sticker every year. They seem to hit one area all at one time and slap fines on all the violators they find. Then they move onto another area so sometimes you get lucky and aren't on the street when they come looking.
The stickers go on sale June 1 and run $75 for a regular car IIRC. Bigger cars and small trucks are $120. They give you a certain time frame to buy and affix them and once that day has passed, you get socked with an extra fine for being late. You can get them at almost any Currency Exchange or online from the City Clerk's office.
http://www.chicityclerk.com/licenses/citystickers.html
FWIW, most of the suburbs have their own stickers but they are much less expensive. The PITA is that some of the suburbs require their stickers to be placed on the driver's side and the city stickers go on the passenger side.
When I was in college and living in the 'burbs, I got two tickets while visiting friends in the city because I didn't have a city sticker. Duh, I didn't live in the city!
I had to go to court and prove my car was registered someplace other than the city of Chicago.
Edit: looks like AlphaDog and I were posting at the same time. There should be something on the ticket itself about appealing the fine.
DM
Re: Stung by Chicago parking - $120 - no city sticker. - Black Landlord - 05-14-2008
If she doesn't live here you should just be able to ignore it.
The info Alphadog gave applies to residential parking zones, not city stickers (if you live in a permit parking street like mine you need an additional sticker or a daily pass). I think dmann missed the bit about your sister just visiting.
An aside, I was once late buying one. I appealed it, on notebook paper, with a semi-nonsensical reason, and actually won.
Of course, a few years later, the city dug out old settled fines and tried to make me think I was being turned over to collections for them (I never had an outstanding fine-- completely bogus). The successfully appealed sticker fine was on the list.
Re: Stung by Chicago parking - $120 - no city sticker. - Black Landlord - 05-14-2008
[quote AlphaDog] Wow, it's no wonder BL has such a negative view of car ownership..
Actually I consider fines levied to recoup a woefully tiny percentage of the cost of providing and managing a giant asphalt playground for a million motor vehicles to be one of the positive sides of car ownership.
Re: Stung by Chicago parking - $120 - no city sticker. - mikebw - 05-14-2008
Just curious, have you ever received a ticket or fine on your bike? Around DC a while back some people were getting speeding tickets for, well, speeding on their bikes. I didn't realize that was even possible.
[quote Black Landlord]
Actually I consider fines levied to recoup a woefully tiny percentage of the cost of providing and managing a giant asphalt playground for a million motor vehicles to be one of the positive sides of car ownership.
Re: Stung by Chicago parking - $120 - no city sticker. - volcs0 - 05-14-2008
When we moved to Hyde Park (south-side of Chicago), I sold my car. I now enjoy walking to work (at the University), and the kids all can walk to school. We still have the minivan for family trips out to the suburbs to see family. But getting rid of my car was fairly liberating. We did the whole sticker thing for the van. I will try to help my sister appeal the ticket on her car, but I have a feeling you can't fight city hall...
Re: Stung by Chicago parking - $120 - no city sticker. - M A V I C - 05-14-2008
Wow, that's an incredibly messed up system. Can't wait for someone to sue the city. Parking enforcement should be looking up the plates to make sure they're registered in the city. Forcing people to fight the ticket after the fact is ridiculous.
Re: Stung by Chicago parking - $120 - no city sticker. - mikebw - 05-14-2008
Officers rarely come to court over a parking ticket, at least in my area. Just schedule a date, go to court and tell them you are not guilty. If the officer who issued the ticket is not present then they have to drop the fine.
I have been issued more than one bogus ticket in MD, one for parking for more than 24 hours (which I didn't) and another for parking overnight (which I did do, but there were no signs to indicate that it was illegal). I went to court for both, and had only to state that I was not guilty. Since there was no accusing party present they simply droped the ticket. No evidence needed or any other reason given.
It also helps that all moving violations and criminal charges are addressed first, and any parking tickets last. Usually the only people left in the court room at that point will be you and the judge.
Re: Stung by Chicago parking - $120 - no city sticker. - Black Landlord - 05-14-2008
[quote mikebw]Just curious, have you ever received a ticket or fine on your bike? Around DC a while back some people were getting speeding tickets for, well, speeding on their bikes. I didn't realize that was even possible.
[quote Black Landlord]
Actually I consider fines levied to recoup a woefully tiny percentage of the cost of providing and managing a giant asphalt playground for a million motor vehicles to be one of the positive sides of car ownership.
People often think I'm a cop. Cops seem to have some kind of an internal sensor that makes them think I'm a cop as well. So, I've come close (usually with sound system in tow), but, no.