Emanuel Proposes Raising Car Boot Fee to $100
By Kate Shepherd in News on Oct 16, 2015 6:50PM
Mayor Rahm Emanuel is trying to close the city's nearly $800 million budget hole with another fee hike. The cost of getting a boot off a car in Chicago is set to rise to $100 under his plan, according to the Tribune.
The fee will go up 66 percent from the current $60. The proposal was included budget documents for aldermen this week.
"The boot fees have not been raised for many years, therefore, we are raising the fees to better align with the cost associated with booting," budget department spokeswoman Molly Poppe wrote in an email to the Tribune.
The city puts boots on about 55,000 cars each year mostly for other unpaid parking tickets or moving violations, Poppe told the Tribune.
Emanuel's administration is also interested in a more convenient "self-release boot" program, which would allow drivers to immediately remove the devices after paying the fee on a credit card and then return the boot to a drop-off area. Currently city workers have to remove the boots manually.
A massive property tax hike and increased fees for ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft are also part of Emanuel's proposed 2016 budget.