FAQs
Buildings Division
When you called in the complaint, you became the complaining witness in the enforcement action. At the hearing you have the opportunity to explain the circumstances which caused you to call in the complaint by providing testimony or other evidence to the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). This could assist the ALJ in determining if the violations existed.
Your name appeared as result of a title search. Most likely, you will need to file a motion to set-aside the default to resolve the case in a hearing. Also, you may wish to contact the Ownership Unit at the Department of Law for review. You may contact 312.742.0007 for further information.
I fixed the building problems while the inspector was standing there…why do I have to come to court?
The Department of Buildings is alleging that the violations were still there on the date of inspection. The hearing is your opportunity to contest any allegations and show proof that the problems were corrected.
To contact a building inspector, please call 311, the City of Chicago’s general information line, or contact the Department of Buildings main telephone number at 365.583.8700.
Environmental Safety & Consumer Affairs
The violation(s) already existed which is why the inspector wrote the ticket, therefore you must attend the scheduled hearing to contest the allegation and show proof that the violation(s) were corrected.
To assist in your hearing, you should obtain a “print out” of the violations consolidated on the booted vehicle’s license plate. This can be obtained from the Department of Revenue cashier at any of the hearing facilities, and will assist you in preparing for your hearing.
Do not ignore the notice. Appear for your hearing and explain your circumstances to the Administrative Law Judge or the City representative. Also, you may contact the City department which issued the notice, or call the telephone number indicated on your document to determine why your name appeared as a party to the action.
Some code violations do allow you to pay the fine instead of appearing for the hearing. However, most require that you appear in-person. If you have two violations on one ticket and one violation allows you to prepay but the other requires that you appear, then you must appear for the hearing on both violations.
Municipal FAQs
The City Municipal code imposes responsibility on the owner of a vehicle that is used in violation of any one of 19 impoundment offenses, regardless of who was driving. The most common of these offenses involve vehicles that contain: illegal drugs, an illegally transported firearm, vehicles that are used while driving under the influence (DUI) or used in the solicitation of a prostitute. Specifically, code section 7-24-225 imposes responsibility on the owner of a vehicle that contains any illegal drugs, i.e.; controlled substance or cannabis with no exceptions.
The Circuit Court date on the front of the notice of vehicle impoundment is associated with the offense or charge that caused your vehicle to be impounded. Do not confuse that Circuit Court date with the Department of Administrative Hearings. You may request a separate hearing at the Department of Administrative Hearings for the impoundment of the vehicle. Please refer to your police district of arrest for further information regarding the court date on the front of your vehicle impoundment notice.
If you do not wish to challenge the impoundment of your vehicle, you are not required to request a hearing. However, please keep the receipts from the auto pound for your records.
Although you do not have to request a hearing, your vehicle will continue to accrue storage fees while impounded. You could be financially responsible for these storage fees. You mayrequest a hearing tochallenge the impoundment.
Trafic
You should contact the parking ticket help line at 312.744.7275. They can walk you through the process of how to contest the tickets or they can review both your records and the tickets, to possibly resolve any ownership issues. You may also want to check with the Secretary of State.
If you submitted a timely hearing contest, you will receive a hearing decision in the mail, which will be sent to the registration address for your vehicle, as recorded in the Secretary of State’s database. You can call the parking ticket help line at 312.744.7275 to confirm timely receipt of your contest by mail. If your request for a hearing was late, the ticket may have doubled.
You have 25 days from the date of decision to pay the ticket before it doubles. Additionally, if you fail to contest a ticket, you have 25 days fromthe date of initial default determination to pay the ticket before it doubles.
If you paid the ticket after the scheduled hearing date, your case will be defaulted. For most cases, you must file a motion to set-aside the default; for Streets & Sanitation tickets only, if you paid before the hearing date, you may call the telephone number on the ticket for further assistance.
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