Mayor Daley introduced a measure today to the City Council that could give Chicago drivers one "get out of jail free" card on parking meter tickets per year. If it passes, each driver would get one challenge of a parking meter ticket as long as it was issued within five minutes of the meter time expiring. Said Mayor Daley when announcing the measure, "I understand that many people were angry over the way the parking meter plan was implemented last year. This grace period is another step by Chicago Parking Meters to improve the parking meter system and add convenience for motorists." Which is nice, but the meters were leased for a reason - the city is strapped for cash - and giving up potential revenue from tickets can't help matters. more ›

• RIP, Richard Pegue.
• How much does gun violence cost Chicago each year? According to one report, $2.5 billion.
• The recent parking ticket amnesty period wiped out 135,000 unpaid parking and red-light tickets as well as brought in $7 million. But be ready, the so-called "boot blitz" - due to a lower ticket threshold - begins next month.

For the first time in six years, the City of Chicago is offering drivers an amnesty period to take care of old parking tickets before the boot threshold is lowered. The period runs from January 1 until February 14 during which tickets issued before January 1, 2007 can be paid off with 50 percent off the penalty fees. After the deadline, the threshold for booting drops from three unpaid tickets older than one year to two tickets. Revenue Director Bea Reyna-Hickey said, “I would encourage you to take advantage of this offer…We have not done one since 2002. Before that, there was one in the ‘80s. So it’s not something we want to do as a regular practice...It’s an opportunity for you to come into compliance [and] save a little money. I wish it could be more. But some people could really benefit from the waiver of those additional fees out there on their record.” As the number of tickets is down, Reyna-Hickey admitted, "Police [ticketing] has decreased…Clearly, the police have a lot of other more important things to tend to." In 2002, the last time an amnesty period was declared, the city brought in $8.2 million and took care of 242,000 unpaid tickets. more ›

You mean there was news besides the election??? more ›