Car towed from private property in Naperville
Your car got towed from a lot or apartment complex in Naperville. 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 Naperville
- 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 Naperville
Shared lots in Cicero, Berwyn and Melrose Park generate constant tenant-parking disputes, and the Route 59 and Ogden Avenue retail corridors do the same at the western end. If you could not reach the relocator by phone for a full hour after your first attempt, the statute says all towing and storage fees are waived.
Naperville runs its own impound and spans DuPage and Will counties, both of which sit inside Illinois Commerce Commission relocation jurisdiction, so a private-lot tow here carries the state's sign, distance and rate 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.
Naperville holds 149,540 residents, the fourth-most populous city in Illinois, with a median household income of $127,648 and a median family income of $150,075. It spans DuPage and Will counties. Interstate 88, the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway, passes through the northern part of the city, and Illinois Route 59 runs the north-south commercial spine. Ogden Avenue follows the old trail from Chicago to the Potawatomi village that stood where downtown Naperville is now. Edward Hospital, with 352 private rooms and 4,500 employees, is the city's largest employer and its only hospital, which makes Naperville the only large Illinois city with just one. The retail footprint is substantial: Downtown Naperville, Freedom Commons, Springbrook Prairie Pavilion, and the Route 59 and Ogden Avenue corridors. For towing this is a two-part market. On the tollway it is breakdown and crash recovery at highway speed. In the retail corridors it is private-property relocation from shared lots, and because Naperville sits in DuPage and Will, both of which are inside the Illinois Commerce Commission's relocation-towing jurisdiction, those tows carry the state's sign, distance and rate rules. Vehicle values here mean flatbed by default. Operators cover I-88, Route 59, Ogden Avenue and the downtown district.
Common Naperville questions
Is it legal to tow my car from a parking lot in Naperville?
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 Naperville?
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 Naperville?
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 Naperville?
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 Naperville
Private-property tows in the rest of the West Suburbs area
Need your car towed once it's released in Naperville?
We can't waive the yard's fees. We can line up an operator the moment it clears.