Thanks, Chicago

So I got notice in the mail at my dad's house of a parking violation here in Chicago from back in December. The violation was for rush hour parking on a street where no such restrictions exist. I never received a physical ticket on my car, and the notice in the mail did not have any photos attached. I could not find any photos online either. I decided to contest the ticket naturally, but I'm pissed that I can find no proof that I was even parked there. Truth be told, I was likely parked here on this day, but I didn't break any rules. The worst part is the amount of time I have spent on this matter and how it frustrates me. Since I wasted a lot of time researching and writing a letter contesting the ticket, I thought I would share in the hopes of making myself feel better ;-)

My letter to the city is below (i find it interesting that I have to appeal to the department of revenue...):

City of Chicago
Department of Revenue
P.O. Box 88292
Chicago, IL 60680-1292

To Whom It May Concern:

On February 7, 2009, I received notice via US Mail of parking ticket number [redacted] The ticket was issued on December 2, 2008 to a vehicle with Kentucky license plate number [redacted]. The violation description provided on the ticket is “Rush hour parking.” As a registered owner of the vehicle in question, I am contesting this ticket under provisions of the Municipal Code of Chicago found in the “Contesting by Mail” area of the City of Chicago Website.

Item 6 of the list of allowable defenses for parking and compliance tickets reads:
“The illegal condition described in the compliance violation notice did not exist at the time the notice was issued”

The address specified on the ticket, 754 W. Wilson Ave, is located between Clarendon Ave and Marine Dr. There are no rush hour parking restrictions on this area of Wilson Avenue on either side of the street. Pictures have been enclosed of the block and the signage on the block. The only known parking restrictions on this area of Wilson are street cleaning restrictions as evidenced by one of the attached photographs.

If there are rush hour parking restrictions on this section of Wilson Avenue, the signage does not indicate this and therefore would meet the qualifications of item 3 on the list of allowable defenses by the Municipal code of Chicago.

If there are no rush hour parking restrictions in this area of Wilson Avenue, then the illegal condition described in the ticket did not exist on the date it was issued. Therefore the ticket should be dismissed.

If there are rush hour parking restrictions, but no signage indicating such, then the relevant signs prohibiting or restricting parking were missing and the ticket should be dismissed.
This ticket seems like a simple mistake and hopefully it can be resolved quickly. Thank you for your time in reviewing this matter.

Regards,

H. Andrew Goss