While we'd really rather not pay the ticket we found on our windshield this morning, we can't help but recognize the increased enforcement is a good way to raise a little extra dough for the city. Why have laws if you don't enforce them? more ›

Remember Scott Larsen, who was filmed by NBC Chicago getting a parking ticket as he was trying to stuff five dollars worth of quarters into a fare box? Looks like he had the ticket dismissed after someone in the city's Office of Emergency Management & Communications viewed the video. more ›

To those who've received a parking ticket recently it may now seem as though the city is writing more, but that's exactly what's happening. more ›

Facing a $654 million budget hole and no longer able to pretend like we didn't totally get hosed on the disaster that was the Parking Meter Lease, the City is now turning up the heat on others to help fill the gap. This time around, according to a memo obtained by the Sun-Times, it's the Chicago Police Department and the number of parking tickets they're issuing. The memo doesn't explicitly tell the CPD to "WRITE MOR TICKETS PLZ" but it does put the onus of falling revenue on fewer tickets written, saying that if the drop in issued tickets continues, the city will "witness a dramatic decrease in annual revenues and not meet 2010 targets." While the private company hired by the company that's leasing the meters has stepped up its ticket writing game, it seems the number of tickets issued by the CPD has dropped compared to this time last year. The CPD issued around 850,000 tickets in July 2009 but in July 2010 only wrote 642,000 tickets. more ›

Chicago Parking Meter, LLC, the company that runs the city's privatized meters, will resume ticketing duties tomorrow after a year-plus hiatus. The company voluntarily halted enforcement last spring after the transition was plagued by problems including malfunctioning meter pay boxes. According to The Expired Meter, CPM has hired Serco, Inc., a firm that has helped with the city's parking ticket enforcement in the past, to aid them this time around. The Parking Ticket Geek breaks down the hierarchy in the comments of his story: more ›

In an effort to "boost enforcement without increasing municipal spending" the town of Cicero has now given its seven trustees the power to issue parking tickets. The trustees will receive training from police and can write up infractions ranging from parking in a handicap space to blocking crosswalks. Town President Larry Dominick said in a statement: "It’s a good idea because all of the members of the board live here in the community and spend a lot of their time monitoring conditions in the town. They are aware of everything. This will help increase the response time and also crack down on motorists who violate parking and traffic laws but escape punishment." God help us if Mayor Daley ever enlists the City Council for similar help. more ›

Remember a few weeks ago when there were conflicting media reports pertaining to the numbers the City's Department of Revenue was throwing out in regards to higher revenues from parking tickets? In October, the Dept. cited a jump in revenue to the tune of $7 million from January to August of 2009 over the same time period in 2008. But some claimed that revenue jump was due to the parking ticket amnesty program during the first quarter of '09 that encouraged people to pay outstanding tickets with no fear of additional penalties. more ›

A heads up to those of you parking law scofflaws out there with the fortuitous work schedule that allows you to not be parked on Chicago streets during the prime Denver booting hours of 6:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. -- your luck has just run out. more ›

The city released numbers earlier this week pertaining to parking tickets over the first eight months of the year and while there were some potential discrepancies regarding where the extra revenue came from, it's easier to see how each of the city's wards broke down in terms of tickets. The Sun-Times has the report today and, unsurprisingly, it was the 42nd Ward, which includes downtown, that had the most parking tickets, beating other wards by a healthy margin. The 41st Ward, which includes O'Hare Airports and its parking lots/garages, led the city in Denver boot violations. Check out the full report [PDF] to see how your ward broke down more ›

According to the Tribune, there's been a jump in tickets issued - up 26 percent in January through August 2009 over the same time period last year - and an increase of revenue. But CBS 2 points out that the jump in revenue may have more to do with the parking ticket amnesty that was offered early this year than the new tickets actually being paid. more ›

We've already mentioned how most most of the City's departments are shut down today in a money-saving maneuver. While the Police and Fire Departments are (obviously) still open for business, The Parking Ticket Geek points out one other department that's still running full steam: the Dept. of Revenue's Street Operations. So remember to keep those quarters handy. more ›

• Charges have been brought against the woman who abandoned her baby in a Wheaton yard last week.
• The Sun-Times investigates the use of "company cars" by employees of, ironically, the CTA.
• Chicago Public Schools are going into overdrive this summer to make sure students come back next fall.

• 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 you delinquent payers, don't forget that tomorrow is the final day to take advantage of the City's special ticket amnesty program. You can pay via the web or in person at a number of centers around town. If you've waited til now, though, be prepared to wait in some long lines, as our friends over at The Expired Meter have observed. more ›

• Mayor Daley is still pissed about the teen cop: "What bothers me is I’d hate to see it at Halloween if everybody walks in - a 12- or 14-year-old walks into a police station on Halloween, they'll be handed a desk. They'll give them a car. They'll give them a badge…That's a real concern that we have."
• Maybe MayDay's on edge about his upcoming trip to the United Arab Emirates, where he'll visit Dubai and Abu Dhabi in an effort to further Chicago's stance as a global city.
• The Expired Meter takes an interesting look at how budget cuts for the city, including shutting some offices, are making it more difficult to contest and settle parking and red light camera tickets.

The City of Chicago is planning to drop the hammer on motorists that don't pay parking tickets, presenting them with more than just a ticket: evidence! more ›