Car towed from private property in Elk Grove Village
Your car got towed from a lot or apartment complex in Elk Grove Village. 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 Elk Grove Village
- 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 Elk Grove Village
This is the busiest private-property towing area on the map. Woodfield Mall and the office and hotel lots around it in Schaumburg, Old Orchard in Skokie and Golf Mill in Niles all generate relocations, and every one of them is governed by the state rules, including the cap of 10 air miles from where the vehicle was parked.
Elk Grove Village runs its own impound. Weight matters more here than anywhere else on the map, because a commercial vehicle at or above 8,000 pounds sits in a higher fee tier almost everywhere that publishes one, including the City of Chicago at $350 to tow and $100 a day to store. 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.
Elk Grove Village holds 32,812 residents as of 2020, estimated at 31,802 in 2024, with a median household income around $95,200 and a Hispanic share between 12 and 15 percent. The village sits directly against O'Hare International Airport, and its economy runs on the industrial park along its eastern border, one of the largest contiguous industrial parks in North America. Interstates 90, 290 and 355 all serve it, along with Illinois Route 53 and IL-390, and the planned I-490 Western O'Hare Bypass will add another. Higgins Road, which is Illinois Route 72, and Arlington Heights Road frame the original residential grid along with Landmeier and Wildwood. Busse Farm, the last farm ground in the village, sat between Higgins and Oakton and was once floated as a Bears stadium site. For towing this is the heavy-duty end of the market, and it is the better-paying end. An industrial park that size pressed against a major airport means straight trucks, tractor units, trailers and delivery fleets, and heavier vehicles fall into a different fee tier: the City of Chicago charges $350 to tow a vehicle at 8,000 pounds or more and $100 a day to store it, against $250 and $50 for anything lighter. Operators cover the industrial park, the O'Hare cargo belt and the I-90 and IL-390 corridors, running heavy and medium-duty equipment where the work needs it.
Common Elk Grove Village questions
Is it legal to tow my car from a parking lot in Elk Grove Village?
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 Elk Grove Village?
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 Elk Grove Village?
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 Elk Grove Village?
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 Elk Grove Village
Private-property tows in the rest of the North & Northwest Suburbs area
Need your car towed once it's released in Elk Grove Village?
We can't waive the yard's fees. We can line up an operator the moment it clears.