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Chicago drivers could see $70M in refunds over city sticker tickets
A Cook County judge ruled that the city must refund millions to drivers who were overcharged for city sticker and parking violations.
CHICAGO - A major financial hit could be coming for Chicago.
A Cook County judge ruled that the city must refund millions to drivers who were overcharged for city sticker and parking violations.
What we know:
A $1,600 fine for four city sticker violations — that’s what happened to Kyle Garchar in 2018. When he couldn’t pay, he couldn’t drive his car. And since he was a rideshare driver, that meant he couldn’t work.
That’s when Garchar decided it wasn’t fair, and he had to do something about it.
He is one of two plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the city of Chicago over city sticker violations. Tickets turned into debt because of mounting late fees.
A judge said it went too far, ruling the city violated state law by charging penalties that exceeded a $250 cap on municipal fines.
The backstory:
Sixteen years ago, the city began raising ticket prices, and several eventually exceeded that cap.
City stickers went from $100 to $200 — with an additional $200 late penalty.
People who were unable to pay lost their cars, and many city workers lost their jobs.
"One of our plaintiffs in that case, the city issued something like 35 tickets to him over the course of a month — and I mean, do the math," said attorney Jacie Zolna. "It was tens of thousands of dollars. And again, this is not a safety issue. These people weren’t speeding or running red lights or causing any safety hazard."
"Make no mistake, this practice has harmed the most vulnerable people in the city. End of story. And it’s spanned now three different administrations — and not a single one of them has done anything about it."
Why you should care:
The judge’s ruling impacts more than a million tickets issued between 2012 and 2022.
If it stands, Chicago must refund nearly $70 million in overcharges — plus another $34 million in interest.
The judge also wiped out nearly $94 million in unpaid fines and fees that have not yet been collected.
What's next:
The city says it is considering a possible appeal.
The Source: FOX Chicago’s Tia Ewing spoke with one of the plaintiffs and an attorney representing the plaintiffs for this report.