the city of Chicago systematically overcharged residents for city stickers and other parking violations for more than a decade.

This class action lawsuit involves more than 1 million tickets issued between 2012 and 2022, most of which involved city stickers.

The lawsuit stems from an Illinois law that prohibits the city from assessing more than $250 in fines and penalties for standing, parking or compliance violations. According to the suit, the city assessed as much as $400 for city sticker violations.

"The problem with the city of Chicago is... it can't help itself when it comes to ticketing revenue," said the plaintiffs' attorney, Jacie Zolna.

Zolna says it has been an eight-year battle in court, and at no point did the city of Chicago try to settle or compromise on this lawsuit.

Zolna pointed to a November 2022 City Council Finance Committee meeting when a city attorney appears to admit that its ticketing practices were found to be in violation of the state imposed $250 limit.

"It would be illegal for us to fine... to issue these fines under the court's ruling. So, if we did issue them, we would expose ourselves to litigation," said City Attorney Mark Siegel.

The city of Chicago's Law Department says it's evaluating all legal options, including an appeal. However, as attorneys for the plaintiffs point out, an appeal would just go up to the appellate court that ruled against the city three years ago.

https://abc7chicago.com/post/city-overcharged-residents-sticker-chicago-parking-ticket-years-judge-rules/18645632/