Disputing a tow · Southwest Side, IL

How to dispute a tow in Southwest Side

Think a tow near Southwest Side was wrong? Illinois gives you real leverage, but which route you take depends entirely on who towed the car.

The short version

What Illinois law says

There are two completely separate complaint routes in Illinois and using the wrong one wastes weeks. If a municipality impounded your vehicle, 625 ILCS 5/11-208.7 gives you a right to an administrative hearing, with notice required within 10 days and an initial hearing convened no later than 45 days after that notice is mailed. If a private property had it relocated, the regulator is the Illinois Commerce Commission, and the relocator's own invoice has the complaint form on the back of it. Work out which happened first. A vehicle taken off a public street by a municipality is the first route; a vehicle taken out of a lot by a licensed relocator is the second.

Step by step

How it works in Southwest Side

  1. 1
    Work out who towed it

    A municipal impound and a private-property relocation have different regulators, different deadlines and different paperwork. Getting this wrong is the single most common reason a complaint goes nowhere.

  2. 2
    For a municipal impound, watch the notice

    State law requires notice within 10 days of the impoundment and an initial hearing scheduled and convened no later than 45 days after the date that notice was mailed. If no notice arrived, say so.

  3. 3
    For a relocation, check the sign first

    Removing a vehicle from a property that lacks the signs required under 18a-302 is unlawful. Photograph the lot, including the absence of a compliant sign, before anything changes.

  4. 4
    Check the distance and the police call

    A relocator cannot take a vehicle more than 10 air miles from where it was parked, or 15 from an unincorporated area, and must notify local police within one hour of the removal.

  5. 5
    Check the rate

    Charging above the rates set by the Commission is unlawful under 18a-300(12), and 18a-300(18) requires any amount charged in excess of the reasonable rate the Commission establishes to be refunded.

  6. 6
    File it with the right body

    Relocation complaints go to the Illinois Commerce Commission, 9511 W. Harrison Street, Des Plaines, Illinois 60016, phone (847) 294-4326, using the form on the back of the Relocation Towing Invoice. Municipal impound disputes go through that municipality's administrative hearing process.

Southwest Side context

What this looks like around Southwest Side

Inside the city both routes are live. For a city tow, start with 311 and the Bureau of Traffic Services at 312.746.4954, Monday to Friday 7am to 3pm. For a vehicle relocated out of a private lot in Cook County, the regulator is the Illinois Commerce Commission and the rules in 625 ILCS 5/18a are the standard the relocator had to meet.

A Southwest Side tow inside the city goes to a City of Chicago pound, and the fees are published: $250 to tow a vehicle under 8,000 pounds, $350 at 8,000 pounds or more, and $50 or $100 per day storage on the same split. Payment is cash or major card only. Se habla espanol, and the corralon process is the same one either way. A City of Chicago tow has published fees: $250 to tow a vehicle under 8,000 pounds and $350 at 8,000 pounds or more, with storage at $50 or $100 per day on the same weight split, under Municipal Code 9-92-080. Payment is cash, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express or Diners Club only, with no checks and no money orders. To release a vehicle you need photo identification, proof of ownership as a title, a current registration card or a bill of sale under 30 days old, current state plates and a Chicago Vehicle Sticker where required, and all charges and fines paid in full. Vehicles are normally stored no less than 21 days from the date the city mails notice, with a right to one 15-day extension under 9-92-100(a); request it from the Auto Pound Office at 312.746.4954.

The Southwest Side is the Spanish-language core of Chicago and one of the densest Mexican-American areas in the United States. Gage Park is 88.8 percent Hispanic, West Lawn 88 percent, South Lawndale, which everyone calls Little Village, 80.7 percent with about 69,900 residents, Archer Heights 79.5 percent, Brighton Park 78.8 percent, the Lower West Side, which everyone calls Pilsen, 68.2 percent, New City, which everyone calls Back of the Yards, 67.5 percent, Chicago Lawn 61 percent and Garfield Ridge 59.1 percent. The Stevenson Expressway runs along the district's northern edge with Pilsen exits at Damen and Ashland, Archer Avenue runs the old diagonal, and Cermak, Western, Ashland and Pulaski carry the rest. Twenty-Sixth Street in Little Village hosts the largest Hispanic parade in Chicago. Pilsen has three Pink Line stops at Western, Damen and 18th Street. New City is bounded by Pershing Road, Western, the Norfolk Southern tracks and Garfield Boulevard and held the Union Stock Yards from 1865 until 1971. Midway International Airport sits on the western flank. Every Spanish page on this site is written for a reader here, in the register people actually use: carro, grua, corralon. Operators cover the Stevenson corridor, the Midway edge and the 26th Street and Archer Avenue commercial spines.

Southwest Side impound FAQs

Common Southwest Side questions

How long do I have to dispute a tow in Southwest Side?

For a municipal impound, state law requires notice within 10 days and an initial hearing convened no later than 45 days after that notice is mailed, so the timetable is driven by the notice date. For a private-property relocation, file the complaint form from the back of your invoice with the Illinois Commerce Commission as soon as you have it.

What if the lot had no sign in Southwest Side?

Under 18a-300(10) it is unlawful to remove a vehicle from property on which signs are required and on which appropriate signs under 18a-302 are not posted. Photograph the lot before anything is changed, and include the photographs with your complaint.

What if I could not reach the towing company in Southwest Side?

If after a reasonable effort you could not make telephone contact with the relocator for a period of one hour from your first attempt, during a period when they are required to answer, the statute says all fees for towing, storage or otherwise are to be waived. Keep a log of the times you called.

Can Quick Tow Chicago settle my tow dispute in Southwest Side?

No. We are not the towing company, the village or the Commission, and we have no standing in your dispute. We can tell you which route applies and what the law requires, and move the car once it is released. Call (773) 830-6930.

Nearby

Disputing a tow in the rest of the Chicago City Sides area

Serving Southwest Side

Need your car towed once it's released in Southwest Side?

We can't waive the yard's fees. We can line up an operator the moment it clears.