Thread: Chicago - City fines and fees double, triple for minor / maj

City fines and fees double, triple for minor and major offenses

BY fRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter/fspielman@suntimes.com
November 6, 2011 6:44PM
Updated: November 7, 2011 2:08AM

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said his plan to raise taxes, fines and fees by $220 million in 2012 includes higher fines for a laundry list of offenses, but he has yet to air that laundry list.

Now, the mayor’s 2012 revenue ordinance makes the details public. It’s a doozy.

If your car is impounded for carrying drugs, driving drunk, soliciting a prostitute or carrying a firearm registered to someone other than the driver, the penalty will double — to $2,000. But, if the violations occur within 500 feet of a park or school, the fine will triple — to $3,000.

If your car is seized for drag racing on Chicago streets, there’s a new, $1,000 fine in addition to the towing and storage fee. For playing a radio too loud, the new fine will be anywhere from $500 to $750.

If the vehicle is snatched for driving with a suspended or revoked license or displaying altered temporary registration permits, the fine would double — to $1,000. Vehicles towed after being used in an unlawful attempt to flee or elude police officers would also double — to $2,000.

Tampering with parking meters or pay-and-display boxes — something motorists have done on occasion to vent their anger at the deal that privatized Chicago parking meters — would carry a fine ranging from $500 to $750.

The mayor isn’t just throwing the book at criminals.

He’s also raising nuisance fines. They include:

â€*Allowing weeds to grow to a height that exceeds 10 inches — $600-to-$1,200-a-day, up from $500-to-$1,000.

â€*Illegal dumping or allowing trash to accumulate in a way that provides a food supply for rats — $300-to-$600, up from $250-to-$500.

â€*Accumulation of materials or junk on any open lot or other premises not placed on open racks “elevated not less than 18 inches above groundâ€

Illegals will be exempt from all such fees, especially for loud music and drunk driving without a license, as long as they vote for Dems.