If you believe your car was impounded in error, you can contest (fight) the violation by requesting a hearing. It must be in writing or in person within 15 days after you receive notice of the impoundment. The request should be made to the Department of Administrative Hearings. If you submit a request on a workday, a preliminary hearing will be scheduled within 48 hours. The hearing date cannot be longer than 30 days from the date of request.

Preliminary hearing

If the car was impounded for a use-related violation, a preliminary hearing may be granted. A preliminary hearing is a smaller hearing before the full hearing. Ask for a preliminary hearing within 15 days of your car being impounded. At a preliminary hearing, the City must provide evidence for why they impounded the car. Normally, they will present a police report.

If the City has a police report, or other evidence of why the car was impounded, the hearing officer will ask for any defenses. The only defense that hearing officers will listen to at a preliminary hearing is that the car was stolen, and it was reported stolen, or that the car was sold before the violation occurred. If one of these defenses is asserted, there must be proof brought to the hearing. If the preliminary hearing is lost, a full hearing may be requested.  Additional defenses can be presented to the hearing officer.

Defenses

You were driving someone else’s car

The City of Chicago sends fines to the person listed as the car’s registered owner. If you sold the car before it was impounded, bring proof of the sale to the hearing. Then contact the Illinois secretary of state to get an ownership record of the vehicle.

Someone else was driving your car

The Chicago Municipal Code holds the person listed as the car’s registered owner with the Illinois secretary of state responsible, not the driver. In most cases, owners can be fined even if they were not driving and did not know how the car was being used.

Someone stole your car and got a traffic violation

If your car was stolen when the traffic violation occurred, you may have a defense. You will need to prove that:

• The violation occurred while the car was stolen, and;
• The car was reported stolen to the police within a timely manner of when the theft was discovered or should have been discovered.

If you can show your car was stolen when it was impounded, you do not have to pay any administrative fees. If you have already paid them, the city must refund them.

Gone on arrival fines

Gone on arrival fines are issued when a police officer or City agent decides to impound a car, but someone moves the car before the tow truck arrives. If the City agent did not place a notice of impoundment (an orange sticker) on the car, you can use that as a defense to the fine.

Outcomes

If you win your hearing, you will take the order to the Revenue Payment Center. The Revenue Payment Center will give you a receipt to get your car out of impoundment. Any fees will be waived or returned. The receipt will state how much time you have to pick up your car before you will be responsible for paying storage fees.

If the hearing is lost and the fees have not been paid to get the car back, the City will destroy or sell the car 15 days after all attempts at appeal. Since the circuit court gives 35 days to appeal, cars will not be destroyed or sold until 50 days after the case is lost. Even after the City destroys or sells the car, the city will still try to collect the fees you owe for tickets and storage. The City can file the judgment of the administrative hearing officer at the circuit court. It can also collect the fees in the same way that any judgment of court can be collected.