Chicago has decided to start up the Parking Ticket Amnesty Program again. It's been about 6 years since the last opportunity for people to get a little help with their parking tickets.
Six years ago the city offered to wave all late fees on tickets and cut the prices on the tickets in half. This time around they're just going to cut the late fees in half. Oh, and only to the tickets you got before Jan 1, 2007. As if that's really going to help out a lot of people.
It is a good smoke screen to get people to actually fess up to the tickets they have. It will also make it easier for the city to get up to date addresses on people that have moved a hundred times since their last ticket. That way the city can actually send you notices and they can add more late charges.
However, if you do have parking tickets from before January 1st, 2007 then I guess this is good. Considering that most late fees on tickets after a year are at least a hundred bucks, so now you're just spending an extra fifty bucks.
I know what the ticket game is like. After all, I'm on a payment plan for $1,500 worth of them. Of course, all of mine were after January 1st, 2007. Once again, no help for me.
So is it really all that good of a deal? I guess so if you have a ton of tickets but it doesn't seem like much.
The amnesty program was inspired by the newly signed bill that has dropped the number of tickets that will get you the boot. Which was recently dropped from 3 tickets to 2 tickets. That's right, if you have two tickets on your name then your vehicles are now eligible for the boot.
If your not familiar with the boot system it works like this.
You have 2 tickets. They put the Denver Boot on one of your tires. Your car is now immobilized. You have 24 hours to pay off your tickets or start a payment plan to remove the boot. Plus a booting fee and a boot removal fee. If you can't make arrangements to remove the boot your car will be towed. Now you have towing fees and possible storage fees to pay for as well. If you don't make arrangements to pay off your tickets and the fees after a certain period of time; your car will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Here's the catch. Let's say you owe $600 total to get your car back. Your car gets auctioned off for $1,200. The city gets every penny of that and you still owe for your parking tickets, towing fees and storage fees.
So here's my suggestion.
If you have a car that is booted, you know you can't afford to pay off your tickets and the city is going to take it. Take everything you want out of the car and then take a baseball bat to it. Smash everything you can get to and then take a boxcutter and cut the upholstery to ribbons. Smash the windows, the radio and then pop the hood and start cutting belts and hoses.
I mean.. if they're going to take your property, sell it and then not even take the amount off of what you owe then why give them anything?
3 comments:
...or you could just sell the car yourself and use the money to pay off your tickets.
That would be an option if you could do that while your car is booted.
Typically you get 24 hours to get the boot off before they tow it.
I wouldn't want to buy a car that's booted or been towed. Way too much paperwork and headaches.
Or just call a couple friends to come over and strip the thing down. THEN beat the hell out of it. I know of a few places that will buy a set of three tires. Not to mention glass, alternator, radiator, gas tank, starter, steering wheel, seats, turn signals, head light assemblies, etc etc etc. And it'll take way less then 24 hours.
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