Parking Tickets Amnesty Begins In Evanston

EVANSTON, IL — In a bid to close a multi-million dollar projected budget shortfall, parking ticket scofflaws are being offered a one-time amnesty opportunity. The City of Evanston announced Thursday all drivers who owe unpaid parking tickets can avoid paying any additional fees on top of the original amount of the ticket until the end of September.

People with outstanding parking citations with Evanston will be mailed a notice, and the city said it is also planning an outreach program to people with outstanding tickets via social media and email.

At Monday's city council meeting, Deputy City Manager Erika Storlie said there is approximately $4.8 million worth of unpaid parking ticket revenue owed in Evanston the city since 2010. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Evanston — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Ald. Ann Rainey said that money can play a major role in fixing the budget.
"To me that's real money, I don't know about you." Rainey said. "If a quarter of those people pay, I mean, that's a lot of money. So let's get those tickets paid. You owe it to your community to pay those tickets. You can start fresh you won't get the boot." Otherwise, Rainey warned, the city may have to increase parking fines, something she promised not to do.

On Monday, city officials also proposed raising parking rates for non-residents, while aldermen discussed ways to increase parking meter revenue with high rates and implementing fees on Sundays.

Increases to fines for expired meters, higher tickets for parking during street-sweeping and a reduction in the number of unpaid tickets that would trigger a "boot" being placed on vehicles were all rejected by the Administration and Public Works Committee last month. At the time, City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said higher parking fines are just "not on the table" for the current city council, according to a report from the Evanston Roundtable.

Ald. Melissa Wynne suggested Northwestern University should stop students who don't pay outstanding parking tickets from graduating, suggesting (incorrectly, according to the university) that students with unpaid university parking tickets or fees are already prevented from graduating. And Ald. Tom Suffredin said the city should consider reporting unpaid tickets to credit bureaus.

Evanston has had the same $10 fine for an expired meter violation for more than 40 years, and currently it does not report past due tickets to credit bureaus, according to the Evanston Review.

More details on how to pay unpaid parking tickets from the City of Evanston:

Parking tickets can be paid:

• Online at cityofevanston.org/ticket
• By phone by calling 888-232-9326 or 847-448-4311
• By mail using the envelope provided with the mailed notification
• In person at the City Collector’s Office, 2100 Ridge Ave., between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Extended hours will be offered during the amnesty program on Wednesdays, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., through September.

In order to pay online or by phone, drivers will need to have their ticket and license plate numbers handy. A $2.95 convenience fee may apply.

For more information, please call/text 847-448-4311. For convenience, residents may simply dial 3-1-1 in Evanston.

_{Top photo via City of Evanston}