City: Towing Not So Bad; Aldermen: Yes It Is

By vouchey in News on Nov 12, 2004 2:15PM

Now that the articles are written, and the columnists have prognosticated, the battle lines have been drawn. And surprise! City officials say that city towing programs really aren't scandal ridden, and elected officials looking for an advantage are railing against the system.

In case you missed it, earlier this week the Sun-Times revealed that some city contracted towing companies were getting a wee bit aggressive with their work. As a result, some good folks were losing their cars -- for good -- because they couldn't pay the fees within the 15-day window.

Now Ald. William Banks (36th) wants to extend the 15-deadline to 45 or 60 days, and give towed car owners credit for the value of the car. Also jumping into the fray is Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., who wants a total moratorium on the sale of impounded vehicles. It's a valid point that Jackson and Banks represent many of the poorest Chicagoans, the ones most affected by the towing fiasco, but Jackson is a potential Mayoral candidate in 2007, and it's always nice to get your name out there, isn't it?

That being said, last year there were a lot of cars sold from impounding last year. The Sun-Times has this handy chart that shows 68,224 cars sold. Over 40,000 of those were abandoned vehicles, but that still leaves 28,000 cars towed and sold for other reasons (our favorite: solicitation of a prostitute)