Friday, August 13, 2010

Can't fight the system, huh?

So the letter said, "It is the finding of the Administrative Law Judge that the information submitted supports a determination that the violation did not occur. Consequently, you are not responsible for the fine."
HA! Take that, city hall!!!
I got a parking ticket for not having a receipt in my car window. For those of you who haven't experienced the lovely, relatively new meter system in Chicago, let me explain: when you park in almost any commercial area of Chicago, you have to 'buy your time' by inserting either quarters or a credit card and purchasing a receipt that shows the latest time you will be departing your parking spot. So if the receipt reads '9:15 pm,' you have to either move your car or purchase another receipt before 9:15 pm or else you get a ticket (if they catch you).
Since there are only 2 or 3 parking meters for each block, you have to leave your parked car unguarded to walk down the street and purchase your receipt. Oftentimes, an overly eager cop will issue your ticket while you're buying your receipt!
This has happened to me at least twice in the past 6 months.
Here's the loophole...if you send a letter and your receipt (printed within 5 minutes of the ticket's issuance time) to the ticketing agency, you can fight 'the man.'
And possibly win, like I did - - both times!
Oh, did I mention that you're only supposed to be able to challenge one ticket per year???
Oops!