Car towed from private property in Bolingbrook
Your car got towed from a lot or apartment complex in Bolingbrook. Here is what Illinois law actually requires before that is allowed.
What Illinois law says
In Cook, DuPage, Kane, Will and Winnebago counties, a tow from private property is not the same thing as a police tow or a village impound. It is a relocation under the Illinois Commercial Relocation of Trespassing Vehicles Law, 625 ILCS 5/18a, and it may only be performed by a commercial vehicle relocator licensed by the Illinois Commerce Commission. That licence comes with rules the relocator has to follow, and several of them are worth real money to you if they were broken. The law does not apply to vehicles on public streets, to disabled vehicles, to repossessions, or to police-directed towing.
How it works in Bolingbrook
- 1 Confirm it was a relocation, not a city or village tow
If the vehicle was on a public street, this is not it. Private-property relocations only cover vehicles taken from private property by a licensed relocator at the property owner's direction.
- 2 Look at the sign
Under 18a-302 the sign must be posted conspicuously in the affected area, be at least 24 inches high by 36 inches wide, sit at least 4 feet from the ground but less than 8, be illuminated or painted with reflective paint or both, and carry the relocator's name, address and telephone number plus the amount of the towing charges. No compliant sign, and the removal was unlawful.
- 3 Check the distance
A relocator may not take the vehicle more than 15 air miles from its location when towed from an unincorporated area of a county, or more than 10 air miles from anywhere else.
- 4 Ask whether police were notified
The relocator has to notify law enforcement in the jurisdiction where the vehicle was removed within one hour of the removal. That call is also how you find your car.
- 5 Use the one-hour phone rule
If after a reasonable effort you cannot make telephone contact with the relocator for a period of one hour from your first attempt, during a time the relocator is required to answer, all fees for towing, storage or otherwise are to be waived. Keep a log of your attempts with times.
- 6 Complain to the Commission
You are entitled to a complete Relocation Towing Invoice as a receipt, and the complaint form is on the back of it. Send the completed form to the Illinois Commerce Commission, 9511 W. Harrison Street, Des Plaines, Illinois 60016, or call (847) 294-4326.
What this looks like around Bolingbrook
Will County sits inside Illinois Commerce Commission jurisdiction along with Cook, DuPage, Kane and Winnebago, so the relocator rules apply here in full. Commercial lots around the intermodal yards run their own enforcement and the same sign, distance and rate rules govern them as govern a shopping centre.
Bolingbrook runs its own impound. Park-and-ride lots are the usual source of a private-lot dispute here, and a relocator working one still has to meet the state's sign, distance and notification rules. A suburban impound is not the City of Chicago pound and does not use Chicago's published rates. Illinois law (625 ILCS 5/11-208.7) requires a municipal administrative fee to be reasonable and related to the municipality's actual administrative and processing costs, and it sets no dollar cap, which is why these figures vary so widely from village to village. What it does guarantee is procedure: notice within 10 days, an initial hearing convened no later than 45 days after that notice is mailed, and a refund of administrative fees if the hearing officer finds the vehicle was stolen or hijacked at the time it was impounded. Call the department that ordered the tow and ask for its administrative fee and daily storage rate.
Bolingbrook holds 73,922 residents with a median household income of $92,184 and a median family income of $102,174, mostly in Will County with a DuPage portion. Interstate 55, the Stevenson, runs through the southern part of the village, heading northeast toward Chicago and southwest toward Plainfield and Joliet, and Interstate 355, the Veterans Memorial Tollway, runs along the far east side. Illinois Route 53, locally Bolingbrook Drive, runs north-south through the middle, and Westbury, off Route 53, was the village's first subdivision. Clow International Airport sits off Boughton Road with a runway of roughly 3,362 feet, and the Promenade Bolingbrook anchors the retail. The detail that changes how a breakdown gets handled here is that Pace routes 755, 850 and 851 run express to downtown Chicago on the shoulder of I-55, using park-and-ride facilities in the village. A disabled vehicle on that shoulder is not just exposed to traffic, it is occupying an active bus route at rush hour, and getting it clear quickly matters to more than the driver. The park-and-ride lots themselves are the other steady source of work, collecting vehicles that sit all day and sometimes all week. Operators cover I-55, I-355, Route 53 and the park-and-ride lots.
Common Bolingbrook questions
Is it legal to tow my car from a parking lot in Bolingbrook?
Yes, when it is done by a relocator licensed by the Illinois Commerce Commission and the property meets the sign requirements in 625 ILCS 5/18a-302. Removing a vehicle from a property that lacks those signs is unlawful under 18a-300(10).
Does a lot have to post a sign before towing in Bolingbrook?
Yes, and the statute is specific. At least 24 inches high by 36 inches wide, at least 4 feet off the ground but less than 8, illuminated or painted with reflective paint or both, posted conspicuously in the affected area, and carrying the relocator's name, address and telephone number along with the towing charge. Residential property clearly reserved for residents and their vehicles is the one exception.
What if I show up before the tow truck leaves in Bolingbrook?
Under 18a-300(9) a relocator may not remove your vehicle if you are present before the removal is complete and you are willing and able to move it immediately. For a vehicle that needs a commercial driver's licence there is a narrow exception allowing a service fee of not more than half the posted rate per tow vehicle on the scene, up to two tow vehicles.
Does Quick Tow Chicago do private-property tows in Bolingbrook?
We are not an Illinois Commerce Commission licensed relocator and we do not pretend to be. What we do is connect property managers with relocators who hold that licence and follow the law, and help drivers work out what actually happened to their vehicle. Call (773) 830-6930.
Related help for Bolingbrook
Private-property tows in the rest of the Will County Corridor area
Need your car towed once it's released in Bolingbrook?
We can't waive the yard's fees. We can line up an operator the moment it clears.