Greetings,
I recently received a $50 parking ticket from the City of Chicago for not having a front plate. I take issue with this only because I live in Michigan where they only require one plate (since the 1970s). I was only visiting Chicago and parked on a street in the Lakeview area. My car is registered in Michigan, I carry MI no-fault insurance, my plates are MI, my driver's license is MI, and my permanent address is in MI. I can't even get two plates in MI anymore. Can I really be ticketed for not complying with an Chicago municipal law?
Thanks, Dave
Good Afternoon Dave,
Since your car is registered in Michigan, and no front plate is required there, you are not required to display one when driving in Illinois. It sounds like your parking ticket was written under some kind of ordinance in Chicago. Although I am not familiar with all of the City of Chicago procedures, I believe there is an option for you to contest the ticket via mail. I would write a letter and explain this situation to them. If it cannot be solved by mail, I would appear on the designated court date and take your MI registration card in, along with any other documentation you have. The Judge in the matter should dismiss the ticket once he understands the situation. Hope that information is helpful.
Randy
Randy-
You are pretty much spot on. If you have Illinois plates, you have to display both front and back. Chicago police or parking enforcement officers cannot enforce Illinois law on a vehicle registered in another state.
Like you said, the reader needs to check the box on the envelope that says "Contest By Mail" then send in a letter, with a copy of your Michigan registration and perhaps even a photo of the license plate on the car. You may want to even send in a copy of Michigan's plate display law just for fun.
This should get dismissed if the hearing officer has a brain. However, this is Chicago, and many hearing officers reviewing these matters do not have brains, despite the fact they have law degrees.
If you want, you can opt for an in-person hearing, but that takes more time.
Either way the reader should win this with no trouble.
If your reader has any other questions, they can e-mail me or check out our website for fighting Chicago parking tickets:
www.theexpiredmeter.com.