How to get your car out of impound in South Side
If your car got towed in South Side, here is how to find it and get it back today.
What Illinois law says
Chicago is unusual in one important way: a car that is gone has not necessarily been impounded. The city also relocates vehicles to clear streets for agency work, and it says plainly that this can happen in an emergency with no opportunity to post signs. Its own advice is to call 311 before reporting the vehicle stolen. If it was impounded by the city, it is at one of four auto pounds, all open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year: Central at 500 E Wacker Dr on the lower level, the O'Hare pound on Bessie Coleman Drive, Pound 2 at 103rd and Doty Avenue, and Pound 6 at 701 N Sacramento Avenue. If a suburb towed it, none of that applies, because every village runs its own impound with its own fee. Work out which of the three situations you are in first, because they have almost nothing in common.
How it works in South Side
- 1 Call 311 before you drive anywhere
The city relocates vehicles as well as impounding them, sometimes with no signs posted, and 311 will tell you which pound has it or whether it was moved instead. This is the city's own instruction and it saves a wasted trip.
- 2 Ask whether police are holding it
Vehicles held for narcotics, DUI, firearms, fleeing and eluding, a suspended or revoked licence and a long list of similar reasons cannot be released at the pound at all. Those go through the Vehicle Impoundment Office at 400 W Superior.
- 3 Bring the right documents
Valid photo identification for everyone claiming the vehicle, proof of ownership as a valid title, a current registration card or a bill of sale not more than 30 days old, a lease agreement if you are the lessee, and an original notarized letter from the owner if you are acting for them.
- 4 Check plates, sticker and fines
No vehicle is released without current state plates and a Chicago Vehicle Sticker where required, and all charges and fines have to be paid in full. If you are driving it out, you need a current valid driver's licence.
- 5 Know how they take payment
Cash, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express or Diners Club. No checks and no money orders. The tow is $250 under 8,000 pounds or $350 at or above, with storage at $50 or $100 a day.
- 6 Watch the clock
Vehicles are normally stored no less than 21 days from the date the city mails notice to the registered owner, and under 9-92-100(a) you have a right to one extension of 15 days. Request it from the Auto Pound Office at 312.746.4954.
What this looks like around South Side
Inside the city, start with 311. Once you know which pound has it, the fees are published under Municipal Code 9-92-080: $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, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express or Diners Club only, and the city does not accept checks or money orders.
Auto Pound #2 at 103rd and Doty Avenue is on this side and runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and it is one of the two pounds the city sends abandoned vehicles to. That makes getting a car out of that specific lot a real local question here rather than a generic one. 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 South Side covers Douglas, which most people call Bronzeville, at roughly 21,100 residents, Grand Boulevard at 25,200, Hyde Park at 30,600, Woodlawn at 23,800, South Shore at 53,600, Chatham at 39,900, Englewood at 23,200, Auburn Gresham at 43,800, South Chicago at 27,600 and Roseland at 36,600. Chatham and Auburn Gresham are both about 92 percent Black, Roseland 91.8 percent and South Shore 90 percent; Hyde Park is the outlier at 40.7 percent White, 26 percent Black and 16.9 percent Asian, shaped by the University of Chicago and the Midway Plaisance. The Dan Ryan, the Bishop Ford and I-57 carry the expressway traffic, Lake Shore Drive runs south toward the Skyway, and Stony Island, Cottage Grove, Halsted and the 79th and 87th Street corridors carry the rest. The Metra Electric District runs parallel to Lake Shore Drive through Bronzeville and has five stations along South Shore's branch. The single most useful local fact on this side is that Auto Pound #2 sits at 103rd and Doty Avenue, open around the clock, and it is one of the two pounds the city sends abandoned vehicles to. Operators cover the Dan Ryan and Bishop Ford, the lakefront south of 47th, and the Hyde Park campus, running flatbed for expressway recovery and wheel-lift for the local call.
Common South Side questions
How do I find out where my car was towed in South Side?
Call 311. Inside the city that tells you which of the four pounds has the vehicle, or whether it was relocated rather than impounded, which is a real and common outcome the city warns about itself. If a suburb towed it, call that village's police department directly.
What will I owe to get my car out of impound in South Side?
If the City of Chicago towed it, the published fees are $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 split, under Municipal Code 9-92-080. If a suburb towed it, that village sets its own administrative fee and it will not match the city's.
Can I pay with a check in South Side?
Not at a City of Chicago pound. The city takes cash, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express or Diners Club, and it states plainly that checks and money orders are not accepted. Suburban impounds set their own payment rules, so ask before you drive over.
Can Quick Tow Chicago release my car from impound in South Side?
No, and we will not pretend otherwise. We connect drivers with private tow and roadside operators. We are not the pound, the village or the police department holding your car, so we cannot waive fees or speed up a release. What we can do is help you work out who has it and line up an operator once it is released. Call (773) 830-6930.
Related help for South Side
Impound release process in the rest of the Chicago City Sides area
Need your car towed once it's released in South Side?
We can't waive the yard's fees. We can line up an operator the moment it clears.