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City Council's police and fire committee has proposed raising the fine for illegal tinted front windows to $250. It's currently $25, and given that the police issued 30,000 tickets last year for tinted windows, the higher fines could mean big bucks for the City. Tinted front windows (and windshields) are illegal because they pose a safety risk for police officers who need to be able to see into a car if they pull someone over. Also, geeze louise, 30,000 cars have illegal tinted windows? That number seems astronomically high to us.
According to the Illinois Vehicle Code, it's also illegal not to have windshield wipers. [S-T]
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That's a great idea! Actually in Denver because of the glare off the mountaints cars come with limited "tint" on the windows. What the gang bangers in Chicago use is complete tint. Bravo! And next lets do away with the woofer speakers!
We should call these "thug taxes"
Travel around a lot of poorer nabes.
You'll see a lot more heavily tinted windows.
The cops usually are only issuing tinted window tickets in conjunction with another ticket.
30,000 is low, I'm surprised that they don't multiply that by 10.
"thug taxes". i love that!
with all these people getting busted for tinted windows, there obviously are a lot of body shops that are providing the service...hope they are cracking down on/fining them as well.
As long as we're on the topic, how about a tax on idiots who play their shitty music way louder than their Radio Shack speakers can handle? I hate hearing reggaeton that just sounds like someone sticking out the end of their tongue and making fart noises.
Spook I like the thug tax because I wont be paying it. But the loud music from the oversized speakers is on of the most annoying things in the world, the city used to impound cars for loud music now the police just ignore it.
Oh great...one MORE thing the brain trusts over at Beyond All Reason magazine can use against us in next year's "Least Free Cities" survey:
"And get this...Chicago actually wants its police officers to be safe! The nerve!"
The one tint shop I've been to here in Chicago has customers sign a waiver when they get their front windows tinted, acknowledging that (1) the customer knows it is illegal, and (2) that the customer would not hold the tint shop responsible for any fines, etc.
I think a lot of drivers with tinted windows feel like the potential of a small $25 fine was an acceptable risk - if you're not doing other dumb crap while driving, then chances are you're not going to be pulled over just for the tint. A $250 ticket might get some of those folks to reconsider.
I understand the safety concerns but what baffles me is that you can still tint the back windows of a car as dark as you like!
It has gone from $25 to $250. One problem. They did not make it HIGH enough.
The countless people whom I see doing this on the South Side obviously feel no need to obey the law. I will bet that, one year from now, there will still be tons of tinted-windowed cars on the South Side.
Here's one idea. Impound the car. Then charge a $1,000 fine, PLUS fees for towing and storage. The offender then arranges the towing of the car to a shop of the offender's choosing to get the windows changed.
After the offender demonstrates that the windows have been changed, the offender gets half (i.e., $500) of the fine back.
I wish we could appoint able brothers Ward and Fed Up to be in charge of tinted window and woofer enforcement, especially if we paid them for every ticket written. Heck impound the cars and if not collected by the owner sale them for scrap!
Oh an Fed, I wonder how many traffic stops for noise would lead to finding more weapons and drugs!
Ill make a bet that all of the previous comments were from people that dont live in the city or just have nothing better to complain about. They want to make it $250, what about my neighbor thats a police officer. you cannot see into any of his windows, but ill bet he will never get a ticket. I dont have limo tints but all my windows are tinted and i dont have shitty radio shack speakers. if i drive by your houses, your pictures will fall off the wall, your car alarm will go off, and it will shatter older windows, NO JOKE. If you dont like tinted windows on the south side, get out. man you guys are so ignorant it isnt even funny.
I frequently drive in Chicago. I have tined windows on all sides of my car. I have a six inch strip on the top of my windshield. I am no longer pulled over for my windows because I read the laws and am very successful at getting around them. I have polices officers admirer my car since that is all they can do. I think what gets them is that I don't care about their safety. But know this, the pig that pulls me over better watch his own ass and make sure that they do not violate my rights or I will sue them. It is not my concern that they feel safe. They need to get another job if they can't take the stress.
Help.
This has nothing to do with your, my or a police officers safety.
It's just one more way to make revenue. My little dark blue unassuming no nonsense hatchback just got a ticket sitting on North Elston street for having tinted windows. I have only had my used VW GTI for about 9 months. It came WITH tinted windows. I bought in a very north suburb from a little woman who was a Mac using graphic designer, whom I'm sure never drove to the southside of Chicago by herself. ( Maybe in her Daddy's luxury cars.)
This is just another way to make money. How can I fight this ticket?
Puzzled
FYI the hyper link shown here has NOTHING to do with Tinted Windows OR wipers. It is all about lights and turn signals.
more mis-information?