Chicago issued more vehicle violations per adult in 2016 than New York City or Los Angeles, raising $264 million in the process. (thank you Marc!)

As the number of tickets issued, licenses suspended, and fines imposed have swelled, so has citizen debt. Chicago leads the country in Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings.

Here is an example of just how quick you can lose your car, through no fault of your own, and I'm not making this up.

Because this is an administrative hearing, not criminal proceedings, you have no right to an attorney. It's presided over by a licensed attorney hired by the city as an independent contractor, given the authority of an administrative law judge.

A police officer pulled over a silver Dodge Caravan belonging to Dominique Bush on December 4, 2017. The driver had a suspended license.

After the cop testifies and the prosecutor enters the accompanying police reports into evidence, it's  Bush's turn. She says she dropped her van off at a mechanic to get it fixed. A couple days later, she got a call from the police saying it had been impounded.

"Unfortunately, that's not a defense," the judge tells Bush. "If you had a theft report, that would be a different matter."

Claiming one's car was stolen is one of the only three viable defenses in a Chicago impound case, but it requires filing a theft report with the Chicago police within 24 hours, something no one has told Bush until this very moment.

A theft report—might have saved her vehicle. But now she says she's stuck with a harsher penalty than the man who was driving her car: "His case was thrown out. There was no probable cause to stop him."

The judge hands her a sheet of paper notifying her she has been found liable for allowing her silver Dodge Caravan to be driven on a suspended license, and has been assessed fines, as well as towing and storage fees.

Bush looks at the sheet of paper the judge handed her. She now owes the city of Chicago $4,400 in fines and storage fees, the latter of which will keep accruing at $35 a day unless she pays up or relinquishes her car. She doesn't have it.

https://reason.com/archives/2018/04/25/chicago-debt-impound-cars-innocent