Car towed from private property in Tinley Park
Your car got towed from a lot or apartment complex in Tinley Park. 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 Tinley Park
- 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 Tinley Park
Orland Square, the Tinley Park amphitheatre lots and the Bridgeview stadium lots all run private-property enforcement, and event parking is where most disputes start. A relocator may not remove your vehicle if you arrive before the removal is complete and you are willing and able to move it yourself.
Tinley Park runs its own impound. Event parking is where most disputes start, and a relocator may not remove your vehicle if you get back before the removal is complete and you are able to move it yourself. 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.
Tinley Park holds 55,971 residents as of 2020, estimated at 54,856 in 2024, with a median household income in the low-to-mid eighty thousands depending on the source and a Hispanic share of 10.6 percent. Illinois Route 43, Harlem Avenue, is the major north-south road, Oak Park Avenue and 80th Avenue carry the local traffic, and Interstate 80 runs along the south. Two Metra Rock Island District stations serve the village, Tinley Park on Oak Park Avenue and 80th Avenue. The single most specific piece of towing demand in the south suburbs is here: the Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, open since 1990 as the World Music Theater, holds around 28,000 people per event. Put 28,000 vehicles onto grass and gravel overflow lots on a warm night, add four hours of headlights-on and doors-open behaviour, and you get a completely predictable burst of dead batteries, lockouts, soft-ground tow-outs and post-show tows, on a schedule you can read off a concert calendar months in advance. Away from the amphitheatre the work is ordinary suburban roadside plus I-80 recovery on the southern edge. Operators cover the amphitheatre lots, Harlem Avenue, the I-80 corridor and both Metra stations.
Common Tinley Park questions
Is it legal to tow my car from a parking lot in Tinley Park?
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 Tinley Park?
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 Tinley Park?
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 Tinley Park?
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 Tinley Park
Private-property tows in the rest of the South & Southwest Suburbs area
Need your car towed once it's released in Tinley Park?
We can't waive the yard's fees. We can line up an operator the moment it clears.