To pay or to contest: chicago city sticker (tax, live)

[Yvec]

I moved from chicago to a suburb last October but I still work in the city and often park on the street, so of course come June my forgotten about expired city sticker lands me a $200 ticket. My issue of course is that I am not a resident of Chicago anymore, however, I dont think my car is registered in my new town. Has anyone been in this situation before, is it worth it to contest?

Thanks,

[Chuckity]

Originally Posted by Yvec

I moved from chicago to a suburb last October but I still work in the city and often park on the street, so of course come June my forgotten about expired city sticker lands me a $200 ticket. My issue of course is that I am not a resident of Chicago anymore, however, I dont think my car is registered in my new town. Has anyone been in this situation before, is it worth it to contest?

Thanks,

Unless you've changed your registration and your driver's license address, you are probably out of luck.

[Carson9]

If you have documentation that shows you no longer reside in Chicago, I would try to fight it. Though they may still be able to ticket you for not having any type of sticker as I know some suburbs have car stickers of their own.

[squirrels]

Originally Posted by Yvec

I moved from chicago to a suburb last October but I still work in the city and often park on the street, so of course come June my forgotten about expired city sticker lands me a $200 ticket. My issue of course is that I am not a resident of Chicago anymore, however, I dont think my car is registered in my new town. Has anyone been in this situation before, is it worth it to contest?

Thanks,

It doesn't matter where your car is registered. Generally if it is operated in the city of Chicago on a regular basis, which you've clearly said is the case, then you are required to have a valid city sticker on your vehicle. But being that you live outside of the city, you might be able to successfully contest.

http://chicityclerk.com/city-sticker...icle-stickers/ clearly specifies 'Chicago residents', but that may not reflect the actual wording of the law.

[prairiestate]

Originally Posted by squirrels

It doesn't matter where your car is registered. Generally if it is operated in the city of Chicago on a regular basis, which you've clearly said is the case, then you are required to have a valid city sticker on your vehicle. But being that you live outside of the city, you might be able to successfully contest.

City of Chicago, Office of the City Clerk clearly specifies 'Chicago residents', but that may not reflect the actual wording of the law.

This doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. How would anyone know or measure the amount of time one spends in Chicago with their car? How does one define "regular basis"? Why are the tens of thousands of suburban cars driven into the city each day not given tickets as they leave the parking garages?

You only have a sticker in the city or village in which the vehicle is registered. The reason why the poster got a ticket is because the city is run by corrupt idiots desperate for revenue. Assuming the car is in fact registered to an address outside the city, the parking officer knows full well this ticket is invalid, but assumes the person receiving it won't want the hassle of showing up to court to contest it. Even if you do, there are horror stories about people who can't get the ticket tossed despite ample documentation proving the car hasn't been registered in the city since the last sticker deadline passed. Good luck!

[squirrels]

Originally Posted by prairiestate

This doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. How would anyone know or measure the amount of time one spends in Chicago with their car? How does one define "regular basis"? Why are the tens of thousands of suburban cars driven into the city each day not given tickets as they leave the parking garages?

You only have a sticker in the city or village in which the vehicle is registered. The reason why the poster got a ticket is because the city is run by corrupt idiots desperate for revenue. Assuming the car is in fact registered to an address outside the city, the parking officer knows full well this ticket is invalid, but assumes the person receiving it won't want the hassle of showing up to court to contest it. Even if you do, there are horror stories about people who can't get the ticket tossed despite ample documentation proving the car hasn't been registered in the city since the last sticker deadline passed. Good luck!

All Chicago residents using his or her vehicle in the City must have a Chicago City Vehicle Sticker, regardless of where the vehicle is registered

As I recall they changed the rules because so many people in Chicago were registering their cars in the suburbs to avoid paying for a city sticker.

As for how they would know, it isn't difficult to notice a particular car parking in the same area several times a week. Depending on how the actual ordinance is worded, you might be on the hook for using your car to commute to and from Chicago, or you might be able to get off since you aren't actually a Chicago resident.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Yvec

I moved from chicago to a suburb last October but I still work in the city and often park on the street, so of course come June my forgotten about expired city sticker lands me a $200 ticket. My issue of course is that I am not a resident of Chicago anymore, however, I dont think my car is registered in my new town. Has anyone been in this situation before, is it worth it to contest?

Thanks,

Contest it. Even though you should have changed your registration to your current address, that's between you, your current municipality, and the IL Secretary of State's office. You're no longer a resident of the city and the ordinance only applies to city residents or to cars that are "principally garaged" in the city. And to be honest, while that's the common phrase bandied about by the city clerk's office and various ward aldermens' websites, I have yet to find the portion of the ordinance that applies to non-residents who "principally garage" their cars in the city.

At any rate, even if it applies to non-residents, it doesn't apply to commuters because the ordinance defines the base for a vehicle as "the place (i) from which a vehicle is principally dispatched to other locations, or (ii) where a vehicle is principally stored, garaged or maintained, or (iii) where the movements of a vehicle usually originate." Since none of these apply to someone commuting from the suburbs into the city, and you're no longer a resident of the city, you should get it tossed.

For reference, the ordinance chapter dealing with the wheel tax is 3-56; the section covering display requirements is 9-64-125.

Originally Posted by Carson9

If you have documentation that shows you no longer reside in Chicago, I would try to fight it. Though they may still be able to ticket you for not having any type of sticker as I know some suburbs have car stickers of their own.

The City of Chicago has no jurisdictional basis to enforce the window sticker requirements of other municipalities.

Originally Posted by squirrels

It doesn't matter where your car is registered. Generally if it is operated in the city of Chicago on a regular basis, which you've clearly said is the case, then you are required to have a valid city sticker on your vehicle. But being that you live outside of the city, you might be able to successfully contest.

City of Chicago, Office of the City Clerk clearly specifies 'Chicago residents', but that may not reflect the actual wording of the law.

Not true. The ordinance applies only to city residents and to other vehicles "principally garaged" in the city (maybe -- see my response to the OP). It doesn't apply to commuters who otherwise operate their cars in the city on a regular basis.

Originally Posted by prairiestate

. . . The reason why the poster got a ticket is because the city is run by corrupt idiots desperate for revenue. Assuming the car is in fact registered to an address outside the city, the parking officer knows full well this ticket is invalid, but assumes the person receiving it won't want the hassle of showing up to court to contest it. . .

No, the reason why the OP got a ticket is because, as he clearly stated, his car is still registered to a city address but with no valid city sticker. Say what you want about the whole stupid city sticker tax, and its enforcement mechanisms, but if the OP's statement is accurate then the ticket was written in good faith.