Antioch family 'very upset' after being ticketed in Chicago

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - A north suburban family says they love visiting Chicago, but won't be coming back for a long time after their car was towed outside the Shedd Aquarium.

The Durham family’s car was one of a couple dozen vehicles towed from the same area last weekend because of concerts at Northerly Island, and they're upset because they say the city did a poor job posting warning signs.

"They had meters there and everything. So we went up to the meter, paid our fee and went inside,” David Durham said.

Durham, his wife and three young children say they had a great time Sunday at the Shedd Aquarium, until the Antioch family headed back to where they'd parked.

"To find that our car was gone. While we had three young tired children ready to jump into a car. We had no car to go to,” Durham said. The family was “very upset.”

And it turns out, the city had towed Durham’s car and a number of other vehicles from solidarity drive because of a concert at nearby Northerly Island.

Durham says the signs warning that the tow zone would start at one o'clock were tied to trees about 15 and 20 feet away from the curb, as well as on the other side of a black mesh fence.

"Too off the side of the road. Nothing you would pay attention to. Looked more like a flyer someone would print and put on a tree. And the ones on the meters were tattered,” Durham said.

The ticket for the parking violation is a hundred dollars, and it cost another 170 bucks to get the car out of the tow lot.

Durham’s wife was also shocked when she flagged a cab to go get the car.

"The cabdriver said that they cruise the streets during these events because they know this is going to happen. They know they're gonna get fares and have to take people down to the impound lot to get their cars,” Durham said.

A spokesperson for the department of streets and sanitation says a total of 26 cars were towed from that street during the weekend, but says they posted over 170 warning signs on meters, poles and trees. "(DSS) works diligently to inform residents about any parking restrictions in place for an emergency or special event....Owners of the vehicles are entitled to a post tow hearing to dispute the impoundment of their vehicle."

Durham is also angry because he was able to buy metered parking till 3:45 p.m., nearly three hours after the ban went into effect.

FOX 32: What kind of taste does this leave in your mouth?

"Very sour. My wife and I have decided we have better places to spend our money than returning to Chicago and tripling our bill to go to the Shedd Aquarium,” Durham said.

The city says it also sends crews to check the warning signs to make sure they haven't been torn or taken down.