Parking Ticket Amnesty

By Matt Wood in News on Oct 20, 2005 1:22PM

The city is expanding its parking ticket payment plan as part of a massive ticket and tax amnesty program. Officials hope to collect at least $7.5 million of the almost $123 million that is owed the city in unpaid tickets, business taxes, and fines.

Payment plans had been in place for the worst parking ticket offenders, but starting Monday, anyone with less than $500 in unpaid tickets can make a 50 percent deposit and promise to pay the balance in six months. Senior citizens, students, or people in other hardship categories can pay a $250 deposit and 25 percent of the debt. In exchange, they will be taken off the list to receive the dreaded Denver Boot, that ghastly yellow thing that gets clamped to your wheel if you have more than three unpaid tickets. Doesn't the Denver Boot sound like a pro wrestling move? Just to make things interesting, the city should name all its parking enforcement devices like that, say the Montana Meter and the Topeka Towtruck.

This all makes Chicagoist feel like a big chump for paying our parking tickets on time. Most tickets are $30-50, so that means we could still rack up about 10 tickets and get off the hook relatively easy (assuming we avoid The Boot). Over 50,000 people have applied for current payment plans that expire January 1, 2006. The new plans last for another year, so if you're one of those people who never has quarters for a meter or just likes double-parking outside the Starbucks for the thrill of it, call 312-744-PARK to sign up.