The citation for not having a sticker went up 67 percent, to $200 - an amount that, with late penalties and collections fees, quickly can rise to $488 and become a financial burden for families.Ī lawsuit filed against the city last week alleges that these penalties exceed a state cap of $250. Penalties for motorists who purchased city stickers late increased to $60, up from $40. The cost of a sticker went up for all motorists, though not as much as initially proposed. The increase was included in the broader vote on the city budget, which the City Council unanimously approved. She suggested instead that the city raise penalties for sticker “scofflaws.” Aldermen applauded her strategy and the Emanuel administration went along. One of the city clerk’s main jobs is to run the sticker program. Mendoza pushed back on increasing the cost of stickers, saying it was too steep and would hurt families that owned larger vehicles. Some cities have fees that are tacked onto state vehicle registrations, but none are so expensive. Heavier vehicles already paid more.Ĭhicago’s wheel tax is unique among the country’s largest 15 cities. He also proposed raising the cost of Chicago’s wheel tax - what’s known colloquially as the “city sticker” - for some large passenger vehicles from $75 to $135 per year. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) Illinois State Comptroller Susana MendozaĪmong the newly elected mayor’s proposals to narrow the deficit, he suggested cuts to libraries and mental health centers while increasing the prices for water service, garbage removal and some parking. The city needed to find new revenue sources. The housing downturn, meanwhile, had led to a drop in some tax revenue. Daley, had left Chicago in a perilous financial condition. Years of borrowing and overspending from the administration of his predecessor, Mayor Richard M. It was the fall of 2011 and Emanuel’s first budget. The decision to raise the fine was framed publicly as a way to pass the burden of paying for pothole repairs - which, along with other street maintenance, are financed with revenue from sticker sales - from “ soccer moms” who drive large vehicles to “ scofflaws” who don’t buy stickers or purchase them late. “It’s important that we see what the consequences of policies are … Sometimes they’re terrible.” Making “Scofflaws” Pay The Price “Obviously, it doesn’t make sense to just give tickets and tickets and tickets to people who can’t afford to pay,” said Mendoza. Now state comptroller, she said the city should “revisit” the ticket prices and consider forgiving drivers’ ticket debt once they come into compliance with the sticker requirement. Mendoza, meanwhile, expressed regret over her role in increasing the cost of sticker tickets at the expense of low-income black Chicagoans. That’s in part what drove this administration to create new payment plans to make it easier for residents to pay off tickets.” Instead, in a statement, a spokesman for Emanuel said the finance department “is always reviewing enforcement and collection. The mayor’s office did not respond to questions about how the fine increase affects black residents. That’s in large part because motorists from those neighborhoods appeal at higher rates than drivers cited in other parts of the city. Tickets issued in more affluent, majority white neighborhoods are more likely to get dismissed, according to an analysis of 2017 tickets.Tickets issued by police drive the disparity. Black neighborhoods are hit with sticker tickets at a higher rate, per household, than other parts of the city, according to an analysis of tickets from 2011 to 2015.Other frequently issued tickets, including $60 street cleaning citations and $50 expired meter citations, are cheaper and more likely to end in payment. Sticker citations are the least likely of the city’s routine parking tickets to get paid, with only one in three tickets issued in 2016 paid within a year.ProPublica Illinois and WBEZ analyzed millions of records from tickets dating back to 2007 and found: The penalty increase - coupled with a pattern of racial disparities in sticker ticketing - has exacerbated a uniquely Chicago phenomenon: Thousands of mostly black drivers filing for bankruptcy to cope with ticket debt. Collectively, drivers now owe the city some $275 million for sticker tickets issued since 2012. Hear Melissa Sanchez and Elliott Ramos on WBEZ’s “Morning Shift” Radio Showīut increasing the price of sticker tickets came at a devastating cost for thousands of Chicago’s poorest residents, particularly those from African-American neighborhoods, according to an investigation by ProPublica Illinois and WBEZ.ĭebt from this one type of ticket swelled, compounded by late penalties and collection fees. Email address This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
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