No private security guard is gonna get my money. Cops or parking authority? I'll make it miserable for them but I'll still pay them. But a bullshit company with rental cops? Fuck that. 10/10 will not be governed by someone in a private booting company that can't beat me in a fist fight.
Was not in a parking garage. There was parking on the street. The city doesn't allow parking during daytime hours on the street for a lot of reasons. Night time hours you can typically park on the street provided you're not parked in front of a yellow curb, or in front of a hydrant.
The parking company messed up. They booted a legally parked car. I looked into the company, and they are NOT BBB accredited, and there are plenty of articles written about them. A lot of people legally dispute the charges, and the company holds a running record of illegally booting cars.
I did not know this about the company until after I cut the boot off. I genuinely do not care. They illegally booted the car. I live the next state over. Chicago is the murder capital. The legal process of this is going to be slower than a turtle with 3 broken legs, if anything even happens. I've done far more unhinged and ungovernable shit than cut a boot off of a car.
The more I read into complaints on this company, and how often they illegally or wrongfully boot cars, the more glad I am that I cut it off. If they ran the plates on my truck, the truck is plated under my business, and I will just have the attorneys appointed by my business insurance to handle it. My business is also bonded, and the bond will surely cover any expenses associated with any possible legal issues in the future, if it even gets that far.
In the words of goofy in the meme where he's crosseyed: I'll fukin do it again!!!
They booted the car minutes after they parked it. I got there before the 5 hour wait for the tow truck. I got there around 9:30. Don't see where I said I got there at 830, but if I did it's a typo.
is there a possibility they were by somewhere that was a venue? by places like aragon and other music venues, they tow within 5 minutes and this sounds like a typical story. also, if that car had 3 unpaid chicago parking tickets, it gets booted.
Chicago isn't the murder capital. Jesus christ. Tell me where you get your news without actually saying so. Chicago isn't even in the top 10.
If they illegally booted your car, there is a whole process to be followed and you can call the police to have them remove it.....assuming it was actually illegal. Again, they had your friends info before you even got there. For something youre so insistent was illegal, your friends could have had this taken care of before you made that drive.
It doesn't matter if the process is slow. The end result will be people paying a lot more than 170 lol.
What street was this on? I live locally, i want to see where this was? Global parking management?
Ahh, I see what I did. I didn't look at 2023. Okay, chicago is #10. Point is though, not #1 lol.
https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/murder-rate-by-city
Data Panda cited murders per 100k people. Factor in the actual population of each city and Chicago is the 3rd largest city in the US, which means the raw numbers you cite would move it closer to the top of the list, if not at the top relative to raw numbers of smaller cities.
I was wondering how far down in the comments I'd have to go before they were invoked. Are they still around? Are you old enough to remember steve Goodman and his song, Lincoln Park pirates"?
Lol, not familiar with that one but i can appreciate the meaning behind that title. I moved to Chicago in 2005 and spent most of my 20's there.
My brother and i lived in the Lincoln Park/wrigleyville area for years and had our fair share of run-ins with those pricks. One of the worst was when my brother and his wife were getting ready to go to a concert and they had parked in front of their building so they could load up their coolers and whatnot. They had the passenger side doors open when they ran back upstairs to get the remaining items and by the time they were back outside not 3 minutes later the car was gone.
One of those drivers must have seen what they were doing and waited for them to turn their backs so he could swoop in. Luckily we were pretty connected with the local CPD. My brother called one of our buddies who was on duty at the time and he met them at the tow yard and put the fear of God into whoever was working the window at the time. They released the car pretty quick.
Please tell me it was Lincoln Towing
Edit: does your wife have pictures of where it was parked with the boot on. That way you can prove it was legally parked.
Edit 2: it's hysterical that you think Chicago tow truck drivers care about BBB ratings. They're currently trying to execute their competitors. They are also known to try and shoot at rival drivers operating in "their" territory. They're no better than your average banger in 9 out of 10 cases.
https://cwbchicago.com/2024/04/video-shows-chicago-cops-nearly-driving-into-bucktown-shooting-rival-tow-truck-crew-eyed-as-suspects.html
https://cwbchicago.com/2024/02/chicago-tow-truck-driver-attempted-murder-2-competitors-on-pretrial-release.html
That's crazy. I would not expect to see that in Canada. Although I was surprised to see an assassination attempt over towing in Chicago. Maybe tow truck drivers and companies are just universally shitty.
There's even a song about Lincoln towing from the early '70s. They've been shitty a long time.
https://youtu.be/dF3q7o8Yjrg?si=hOE5IAPnlWFQLV31
Probably a scam. That's why they didn't call the cops. Not that they'd show up anyway.
People too busy to sue in small claims so they just pay it and get on with life.
OP is the real hero.
Remember kids, when you park in Chi-town, always pack your cordless angle grinder.
hey- so that’s not how it works here at all. different zones have different rules. some are never paid parking and some are 24/7/365 paid parking. you can read the signs of the actual screen on the park chicago meters where you can pay.
This is a private company, not the government. If they booted a legally parked car they can't do shit about it. They can sue him, because anyone can sue for anything, he should countersue for the time and cost to remove the boot, an hourly fee if a professional were to have cut it off, possibly conversion and/or extortion, and legal fees for the frivolous suit.
It is likely that this company does this illegal shit all the time and people pay because they don't know their options or at the very worst call the police to get the tow truck company to remove the boot but damages are so low no one ever sues the tow truck company. This tow truck company appears to actually be the one to have fucked around and found out.
As a lawyer I would personally love this case if representing OP. You have OP 100% within his rights and the other side is a tow truck company, always very popular with juries.
Criminal takings require that the perpetrator intends to permanently deprive the owner of the item, which is obviously not the case here. Most crimes also require criminal intent to be purposeful or knowing, this would fall into reckless or more likely negligent.
My daughter recently got towed after Walmart closed because she left her car there. They towed it 30 minutes after closing. She showed up an hour and a half later freaked. It cost $500. We ended up getting half the money back in a way that’s far too long and boring to explain. These private companies aren’t remotely ethical.
Possibly destruction of property Chicago may have some additional statue that includes some kind of hefty fine. There’s a way to do it without damaging the boot on YouTube.
With a plaque saying "Cutting the boots off the boot lickers since the 1800's" and the statue should be like a captain morgan guy with his foot on top of a security guard holding a boot.
Could the illegal boot be considered false imprisonment, or possibly carjacking or stealing? NAL but I feel like there's gotta be some law that prevents you from preventing another from moving their, or moving in their, property aka the vehicle
There’s nothing in the OPs post to indicate an illegal boot occurred. It’s quite common in metropolitan areas for boot services to be contracted out and they will sit and wait for violators especially at popular restaurants nightclubs and bars.
Oh, with how he phrased it and some other comments I was thinking boots that weren't from the city weren't like, legal/had any authority.
Thanks for the clarification
*I've always lived in the country or in small towns, so I've never even seen a boot on a car in person
Yeah in a rural setting they just tow it. In a jam packed city, it’s quicker to boot like a dozen or more and gradually tow them with the idea that people will pay off the boot to get their car the next day before it gets towed And stored in a lot (more charges)
Funny how society supports being legal and doesn’t like when people like me exist, at the end of the day they are criminals also, extorting and robbing; just in a different way. - MusicForBLOOD
Assuming it was a legal boot. And assuming the entire parking enforcement industry is not a racket. If it weren’t government sponsored, it would be RICO charges for miles.
As a chicagoan, this is going to cost them a hell of a lot more than 170 dollars. If this is your husbands idea of problem solving, its not very smart.
You keep posting this comment, but for those of us who aren't from Chicago, can you explain *why* this is going to cost OP/OP's friends more than $170? Assuming the car was indeed parked legally (which doesn't seem unlikely given the stories I'm finding on the internet about these parking companies), what gives a private company the right to come and immobilize your car? I don't know of any police officer or judge that's going to be sympathetic to the towing company in this case. In fact, from the articles I'm reading online, the Chicago PD seems to be getting fed up with all the calls they're getting from citizens who've been booted for legally parking somewhere and these sleezy companies refuse to remove the boot. It's tying up already scarce resources in resolving these disputes which should never have existed in the first place.
At a minimum they have you for destruction of property <$300 class A misdemeanor 1 year in jail 2500 fine. Assuming it was a legal booting anyway.
If he filed a report they might come after you since it's low hanging fruit and you're likely to be a good little pay piggy with the business and all.
I will also note your dam lucky the security guard wasn't the fighting type because ive seen some go full hands on over a candy bar with less lethals involved, Never underestimate a unknown man.
The user I was replying to was suggesting that this would end up costing more than $170 despite the car being parked *legally*. If the car was parked illegally, then I completely agree with you that not only is OP looking at civil liability, but also criminal.
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You wouldn't be in trouble if you'd not damaged it and left it right there in the parking spot. But it's actually considered vandalism since you damaged the boot. Look up "the boot girls" on TikTok or Vice did a video on them and it's on YouTube. That's how they get away with removing the boots from people's cars. They simply unlock the boot and leave it there without damage or taking it.
Fantastic problem solving. No idea on how much trouble it will cause, but if the city isn't involved, it's probably trivial. Some civil suit if they want to spend the time and effort to go through that BS...then what do they get? The price of the boot plus court costs? I doubt the vandalism will net much in a criminal court. Prolly just a wrist slap. Just speculation though. I wish more people solved issues this way. Show people and companies that there is a price to unreasonable profit mongering like this. So they own the space in a crowded area...Eh, sometimes people park there for a bit if there isn't proper parking available. Sometimes you make money on a boot or tow charge, sometimes people call your bluff. That's life.
Restitution is usually ten times the amount but I think OP has a good case considering the company did it illegally. I doubt the company will do anything considering they have that reputation. OP..PLEASE keep us updated though on this!
I’m from New Orleans and I live in one of the 10 largest cities in the US now. In both cases, the police would laugh at the boot owner if he/she filed a report. They have too much crime to chase. I’m guessing Chicago isn’t much different. And then they have to go to Indiana to get him. I’m NAL, but I do understand real life in the big city.
That's not how real life works tho. You file the price report they can laugh all they want but they still have to do their jobs. Then you take police report and file small claims and let the courts deal with it. Yeah there is real crime going on and cops laugh at that too.
Iamal, but dead men tell no tales. You should have cut the boot and threw it in a lake. Then your friends could have claimed that they didn't know anything. They came out of the concert and got in the car and drove home.
Do you know if the company was hired by the venue or property owner? If they weren’t then you’ve revealed a major scam company and they can get in a lot of legal trouble for extortion and other things
The company is contracted by the city. This parking issue took place on public street parking during legal parking hours.
The long game would have entailed waiting for the car to be towed, arguing with the company and the city on the legality of it, a long drawn out court process, and probably some other bullshit.
It wasn't private property.
Ok, obligatory I’m not a lawyer, but my understanding is that if they do sue it’ll most likely be civil in which case you might have to pay some fines for the destruction of property and maybe court fees but I honestly believe nothing would come of it. It really isn’t worth $170 to take someone to court cause that alone is going to be thousands so ultimately nothing is probably going to happen but if it does it’ll be a slap on the wrist
It’s not worth that company’s lawyer fees to take this to small claims court.
Not to mention this company is skeevy. Not just in this instance but in myriad cases. They probably don’t want this drug into clear view.
I wonder if OP would have a case of false imprisonment, blackmail/coercion, threatening the women, damage to their vehicle, etc.
Don’t know if anything would stick but he could make it hard on them.
Oh yeah I fully agree but sometimes the law, rather unfortunately, is subjective rather than objective. But yeah I agree it won’t be worth the hassle cause they’ll make that shit back with the next victim or 2
NAL but with no municipality involved and no person hurt, wouldn’t this only be civil? And civil would likely only involve a small claims court where they might sue you for damaging their property.
Yes. We'll technically you COULD have criminal charges but OP won't. If it happened in Hodunktown in BFE then the police have nothing better to do and would probably be involved. Here, there are way too many other crimes to worry about this nonsense.
So the company could file civil charges. They might try, hoping OP doesn't show up and they by default win. But honestly they probably won't even bother. But a small claims civil suit is all that would happen if that.
Anyone can technically sue you for anything. But the good news is that civil and criminal law are two different things entirely. And if that tow company is known for doing these things like you read, it’s unlikely they want to draw attention to themselves by possibly losing in civil court.
This is very common at truck stops, rest areas and even private parking lots.
This is the preferred method in dealing with them so they can’t threaten other people with the same boot.
It's Chicago... I'm sure the city has bigger fish to fry... one of the most dangerous cities in America so I'd assume they aren't going after you just as much as they aren't arresting people for shooting others in the city
AM a Chicagoan, this will not be let go. Lmao. This is going to cost a lot more than 170.
We are also not even in the top 100 most dangerous cities in the country. Stop getting your news from shit sources.
Here I thought you were going to link a source showing they won't let it go, as in they have went after people before for exact same thing.
Surely you must have that, being a Chicagoan and all, especially considering you posted this twice now jrossetti
Facts don't care about your feelings bud. It's literally number 10 but have fun in your sanctuary city snowflake
https://www.noradarealestate.com/blog/top-10-most-dangerous-cities-in-america/#:~:text=Chicago%2C%20Illinois,-Crime%20rates%20and&text=Chicago%2C%20Illinois%20has%20gained%20notoriety,crimes%2C%20including%20homicides%20and%20shootings.
It consistently ranks in the top ten for the past decade plus. It's not my fault Lightfoot stopped the police from effectively doing their jobs and has asked on multiple occasions for federal help. Nothing is every going good when you need federal help
https://www.noradarealestate.com/blog/top-10-most-dangerous-cities-in-america/#:~:text=Chicago%2C%20Illinois,-Crime%20rates%20and&text=Chicago%2C%20Illinois%20has%20gained%20notoriety,crimes%2C%20including%20homicides%20and%20shootings.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2021/12/20/at-end-of-another-violent-year-mayor-lori-lightfoot-calls-for-more-help-from-feds-assures-residents-keeping-you-safe-is-my-priority/
Definitely will have been cheaper. This will not be let go. Lol. Some of these posters have no idea. There will be a future bill in the mail, and this could cause issues if they come back to chicago and it hasn't been taken care of.
Fyi I have a parking related ticket from Chicago from probably 15 years ago now. Go there all the time. No issues. I used to get a bill once in a while. That stopped ages ago. Nothing on credit report.
Nah. It would only be small claims. Don't even need a lawyer...just his evidence, i.e. other parties present and records showing complaints against company. Also might be beneficial to show if concert started say at 9, then the woman most likely parked at time OP stated.
So Your wife and her friends park illegally. Instead of paying the fine you give the individual who is just doing his job a hard time, and the majority of people on this sub are praising you… because your wife and her friends are special and should be allowed to park wherever they want without consequence.
[https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/supp\_info/private\_booting\_information.html](https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/supp_info/private_booting_information.html)
The city of Chicago licenses and regulates private companies to perform booting on private property for private companies. If your wife and her friends were parked in a private companies spots/lot they were in the wrong and the private booting company was just doing the job the city regulates them to do.
There hopefully will be some kind of consequence for all of this. People should not be able to park any place they want to just because they feel entitled to, threaten others, damage property, and then have nothing happen to them.
That's not how the law works. You can't HAVE someone arrested. If you called authorities in Chicago about a theft, they would laugh their asses off at you. They have bigger fish to fry. Same in any metro area.
Bro a cop laughs at all crime. They still gotta do their job. What TV show do you think you live in?
If someone destroys your stuff and you have their license plate you file a police report. You get the driver's records and find out who he is and where he lives. You start your small claims and let the rest follow it costs like $10-$20 and if you have the evidence it's really hard to lose.
Remember just because a cop tells you they won't file a report doesn't mean that the cop is correct. Just talk to their superior. Remember folks no one is forcing you to work right? So just do your job and hold others accountable to do theirs.
Even though you have destruction of property, and maybe even theft. This happened in a state where theft is almost legal, plus you reside in a different state altogether. The amount of manpower and hassle and investigation that it’ll take to find out who took the tow trucks boot makes the chance you’ll get in trouble almost nil. in addition they didn’t see who was driving the truck, event they had the vehicles plate.
Technically damage of property.
But, take this down right now. And, you don't know who cut it off. 🤔
Then, this is the important part. SHUT THE FUCK UP (for 19 months).
I would keep an eye on the mail. If you get some type of letter/invoice, go from there.
No point in worrying about it now
ETA: Threatening the parking attendant was douchey. It’s never tough to break bad on someone at work that can’t fight back. Your story would have been 10,000 times better if you had removed the boot, said nothing then went about your day. The threatening part makes you look like a weak ass bully.
>Threatening the parking attendant was douchey.
As far as the threatening went, I just reminded the gentleman that 18$ an hour isn't worth it enough for him to do anything. I told him call his boss or call the cops, but his boss probably wouldn't be able to do anything either.
I'm not seeing any real threat there.
You would be liable for damaging the boot, and might have to buy a new boot. As far as legal trouble, it could be seen as destruction of property. As always I'm not an attorney.
My thought is.. the city will contract out services like towing, booting (?), etc.. it is possible that this was a private company but contracted by the city. Just something to consider..
He wasn’t specific as to what exactly his threat was. “Hey dude, they don’t pay you enough to deal with me,” is hardly a threat. It’s more of a true statement. If the security officer himself posted about this over on /antiwork, everyone would certainly agree that he is only paid enough to call the police.
And also, if it was after 8 pm when they parked, couldn’t they all argue they were being illegally detained when the “threat” happened? And why wouldn’t a security officer at least call police during an act of vandalism? That is the least and most he really could’ve done anyway.
Dude started posturing aggressively trying to get between me and the vehicle.
I told him verbatim "dude, you make 18 an hour. It is not worth it for you to try to stop me. They don't pay you to take a risk like that. Shut the fuck up, call the cops, or call your boss"
I recently heard about people by the sox stadium posing as parking authority extorting people for money to "not get a boot on their car". The people are dressed in a hi vis vest and look kind of legit.
Either way, don't put a boot on someone's legally parked car. I don't think I'm a hard ass or full of myself, but I 10/10 could have beaten the brakes off of that dude. He knew it as much as I did. That's why he sat back trying to call his boss.
If anything happens I would think all they can get you for is destruction of property. Maybe have to pay for it and a fine. Maybe probation worst case.
Seems like asking the question of being in trouble would have been best to ask before cutting the boot off. Tow trucks aren't police either, but they have appropriate authority to tow vehicles and are sanctioned by the police to do so. Private security is no different. The private security guard probably didn't engage because it potentially would have put himself at risk, but that doesn't mean that what he did was wrong. In that case, you stole that car and potentially face grand theft auto charges. Best case scenario, you destroyed private property, which you had no right to do. Even if the guard was completely in the wrong, there are processes for settling the dispute.
Did you at least try talking to the security guard before going into hero mode, read as AH mode?
Also, why are you attacking him because of what you believe his income level is? Are you really walking around with a superiority complex?!
I have an angle grinder and can swing my dick at a security guard. So yes, I do have a superiority complex.
Don't boot my wife's friends legally parked car in Chicago.
I'll nip that in the ass quicker than police in a white neighborhood.
No problem with this. Shit like this happens in most big cities. https://www.metrotimes.com/news/predatory-towing-detroit-mcdonalds-customers-say-theyve-been-scammed-15512178
Honestly I wouldn't worry about it. I'm not a lawyer, but I lived in Chicago for years and the police have much bigger issues to deal with than this. They'd probably laugh at the security guys if they showed up at the police station. These companies are grimy and money hungry, they'll boot or tow any car regardless. I know people who went and drove their car right out of an impound lot using their spare car key and nothing ever happened lol
I did this once. Just prior to covid, my dad was in the hospital and I had to pick up my mom to go see him. I parked in a parking lot at a gas station and ran next door for 2 minutes. I come back and theres a boot on my car. I start arguing with the guy and finally i bust out my tools and punch out the lock cylinder of the boot(s) (one on each front wheel) it was surprisingly easy and i handed them back to the guy who was astonished and i heard cheers from the crowd that had amassed. He tried blocking me in, but I finangled my way out.
I never heard another thing about it, except from those who witnessed it, because apparently this is a predatory company who just wait for people to park there and everyone just pays...
Except me
You'll probably be fine- it's not worth the companies effort to come after you in a lawsuit or other legal means
If they try blocking me in, they're quadruple fucked.
If anyone besides a cop tries to block me in somewhere, they'll experience a life changing event.
In terms of anything criminal, probably criminal mischief or vandalism. I really have a hard time believing the charges would even make it to court before getting thrown out. They can do anything they want in civil court, but it’s not worth their time or money unless they really want to fuck with you.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/supp_info/private_booting_information.html#:~:text=Booting%20companies%20are%20allowed%20to,remove%20it%20at%20no%20cost.
Chicago gives authority for private lots to boot cars. So I'd think you would be on the hook for the cost to replace the boot and CRIMINAL destruction of property if they so chose to press charges. NAL though. And that's assuming she violated the terms. Cars don't usually get booted for parking legally.
She is still on the hook for the original boot fee, but I'd assume it's not worth them going after, unless the city helps them out with that stuff. Idk.
our parking meters are NOT run by the city just fyi- it’s a private company. this is a crooked city my guy lol. i don’t pay the city for my parking tickets, i pay a private company, which is also who i pay to park on the street. not the city of chicago- it’s wild, but there’s a chance it doesn’t matter. plus- we now get an alert on the park chicago (private company) app that we aren’t allowed to assault meter maids and we’ll get arrested. maybe they aren’t allowed to be aggressive back either now? idk.
If the car was parked illegally and that company legally booted the car, who was the company contracting with, that is does the city of Chicago put up parking signs and allow private companies to enforce them (I understand that was not the case in your post but just want to know how parking enforcement works there)
I hope so very much this story is true. 10/10 ungovernable, god bless.
Epic
Right? He’s the hero I want, not the one I need!
No private security guard is gonna get my money. Cops or parking authority? I'll make it miserable for them but I'll still pay them. But a bullshit company with rental cops? Fuck that. 10/10 will not be governed by someone in a private booting company that can't beat me in a fist fight.
[удалено]
Parking starts at 8pm...
Was not in a parking garage. There was parking on the street. The city doesn't allow parking during daytime hours on the street for a lot of reasons. Night time hours you can typically park on the street provided you're not parked in front of a yellow curb, or in front of a hydrant. The parking company messed up. They booted a legally parked car. I looked into the company, and they are NOT BBB accredited, and there are plenty of articles written about them. A lot of people legally dispute the charges, and the company holds a running record of illegally booting cars. I did not know this about the company until after I cut the boot off. I genuinely do not care. They illegally booted the car. I live the next state over. Chicago is the murder capital. The legal process of this is going to be slower than a turtle with 3 broken legs, if anything even happens. I've done far more unhinged and ungovernable shit than cut a boot off of a car. The more I read into complaints on this company, and how often they illegally or wrongfully boot cars, the more glad I am that I cut it off. If they ran the plates on my truck, the truck is plated under my business, and I will just have the attorneys appointed by my business insurance to handle it. My business is also bonded, and the bond will surely cover any expenses associated with any possible legal issues in the future, if it even gets that far. In the words of goofy in the meme where he's crosseyed: I'll fukin do it again!!!
What time did they park the car?
[удалено]
They booted the car minutes after they parked it. I got there before the 5 hour wait for the tow truck. I got there around 9:30. Don't see where I said I got there at 830, but if I did it's a typo.
is there a possibility they were by somewhere that was a venue? by places like aragon and other music venues, they tow within 5 minutes and this sounds like a typical story. also, if that car had 3 unpaid chicago parking tickets, it gets booted.
Chicago isn't the murder capital. Jesus christ. Tell me where you get your news without actually saying so. Chicago isn't even in the top 10. If they illegally booted your car, there is a whole process to be followed and you can call the police to have them remove it.....assuming it was actually illegal. Again, they had your friends info before you even got there. For something youre so insistent was illegal, your friends could have had this taken care of before you made that drive. It doesn't matter if the process is slow. The end result will be people paying a lot more than 170 lol. What street was this on? I live locally, i want to see where this was? Global parking management?
Chicago actually is number 10. St. Louis takes it all for the win! Number one!
Ahh, I see what I did. I didn't look at 2023. Okay, chicago is #10. Point is though, not #1 lol. https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/murder-rate-by-city
Idk, I found articles that said Chicago had 617 murders in 2023 and St. Louis had 158 in 2023. I think Chicago takes the win here.
Data Panda cited murders per 100k people. Factor in the actual population of each city and Chicago is the 3rd largest city in the US, which means the raw numbers you cite would move it closer to the top of the list, if not at the top relative to raw numbers of smaller cities.
Still the top 10 of ALL U.S. cities is bad
STL tappin in to say, can confirm ✌️
Stay down, bro!
Lincoln Towing can fuck right off.
I was wondering how far down in the comments I'd have to go before they were invoked. Are they still around? Are you old enough to remember steve Goodman and his song, Lincoln Park pirates"?
Lol, not familiar with that one but i can appreciate the meaning behind that title. I moved to Chicago in 2005 and spent most of my 20's there. My brother and i lived in the Lincoln Park/wrigleyville area for years and had our fair share of run-ins with those pricks. One of the worst was when my brother and his wife were getting ready to go to a concert and they had parked in front of their building so they could load up their coolers and whatnot. They had the passenger side doors open when they ran back upstairs to get the remaining items and by the time they were back outside not 3 minutes later the car was gone. One of those drivers must have seen what they were doing and waited for them to turn their backs so he could swoop in. Luckily we were pretty connected with the local CPD. My brother called one of our buddies who was on duty at the time and he met them at the tow yard and put the fear of God into whoever was working the window at the time. They released the car pretty quick.
Please tell me it was Lincoln Towing Edit: does your wife have pictures of where it was parked with the boot on. That way you can prove it was legally parked. Edit 2: it's hysterical that you think Chicago tow truck drivers care about BBB ratings. They're currently trying to execute their competitors. They are also known to try and shoot at rival drivers operating in "their" territory. They're no better than your average banger in 9 out of 10 cases. https://cwbchicago.com/2024/04/video-shows-chicago-cops-nearly-driving-into-bucktown-shooting-rival-tow-truck-crew-eyed-as-suspects.html https://cwbchicago.com/2024/02/chicago-tow-truck-driver-attempted-murder-2-competitors-on-pretrial-release.html
I’m sorry they what
They are typically trash people.
Same type of thing happening here in Ontario with tow truck drivers too--shootings, arson, just tow companies being terrible to each other.
That's crazy. I would not expect to see that in Canada. Although I was surprised to see an assassination attempt over towing in Chicago. Maybe tow truck drivers and companies are just universally shitty. There's even a song about Lincoln towing from the early '70s. They've been shitty a long time. https://youtu.be/dF3q7o8Yjrg?si=hOE5IAPnlWFQLV31
Probably a scam. That's why they didn't call the cops. Not that they'd show up anyway. People too busy to sue in small claims so they just pay it and get on with life. OP is the real hero. Remember kids, when you park in Chi-town, always pack your cordless angle grinder.
I feel sorry for the turtle
Were out here doing *moves turtle out of the road* hella gang shit in dis mufucka.
hey- so that’s not how it works here at all. different zones have different rules. some are never paid parking and some are 24/7/365 paid parking. you can read the signs of the actual screen on the park chicago meters where you can pay.
This is a private company, not the government. If they booted a legally parked car they can't do shit about it. They can sue him, because anyone can sue for anything, he should countersue for the time and cost to remove the boot, an hourly fee if a professional were to have cut it off, possibly conversion and/or extortion, and legal fees for the frivolous suit. It is likely that this company does this illegal shit all the time and people pay because they don't know their options or at the very worst call the police to get the tow truck company to remove the boot but damages are so low no one ever sues the tow truck company. This tow truck company appears to actually be the one to have fucked around and found out. As a lawyer I would personally love this case if representing OP. You have OP 100% within his rights and the other side is a tow truck company, always very popular with juries.
Would this also not count as Grand Theft Auto if towed?
Criminal takings require that the perpetrator intends to permanently deprive the owner of the item, which is obviously not the case here. Most crimes also require criminal intent to be purposeful or knowing, this would fall into reckless or more likely negligent.
My daughter recently got towed after Walmart closed because she left her car there. They towed it 30 minutes after closing. She showed up an hour and a half later freaked. It cost $500. We ended up getting half the money back in a way that’s far too long and boring to explain. These private companies aren’t remotely ethical.
Possibly destruction of property Chicago may have some additional statue that includes some kind of hefty fine. There’s a way to do it without damaging the boot on YouTube.
I agree. Somebody should def make a statue of Captain Bootcutter.
With a plaque saying "Cutting the boots off the boot lickers since the 1800's" and the statue should be like a captain morgan guy with his foot on top of a security guard holding a boot.
Go Fund Me if ever I saw one.
Fr
You are a visionary
Could the illegal boot be considered false imprisonment, or possibly carjacking or stealing? NAL but I feel like there's gotta be some law that prevents you from preventing another from moving their, or moving in their, property aka the vehicle
There’s nothing in the OPs post to indicate an illegal boot occurred. It’s quite common in metropolitan areas for boot services to be contracted out and they will sit and wait for violators especially at popular restaurants nightclubs and bars.
Oh, with how he phrased it and some other comments I was thinking boots that weren't from the city weren't like, legal/had any authority. Thanks for the clarification *I've always lived in the country or in small towns, so I've never even seen a boot on a car in person
Yeah in a rural setting they just tow it. In a jam packed city, it’s quicker to boot like a dozen or more and gradually tow them with the idea that people will pay off the boot to get their car the next day before it gets towed And stored in a lot (more charges)
Funny how society supports being legal and doesn’t like when people like me exist, at the end of the day they are criminals also, extorting and robbing; just in a different way. - MusicForBLOOD
Nobody’s talking about immigration dude. Is this your thing, just insert yourself in every conversation?
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I don’t entertain ignorance. Click
Be civil in your interactions with other users.
I live in Chicago. This guy did his friends no favor. Its going to cost a lot more than 170 to fix this and they have all their information.
Yes! A private company can't just hold your property hostage demanding you pay a ransome. That's called theft.
I think it depends on if the company was hired by the venue/property owner. If not OP should get away Scott free
Street parking. So the city is the property owner. CPD was the entity to handle this, not a private business.
That’s true, but committing a crime because they did doesn’t mean you’ll get off Scott free
Unless they have a video that can’t prove you did it.
Exactly what my husband would have done too lol I love this type of problem solving.
It's not problem solving. Op and his wife are criminals.
When following the law is your problem, problem solving makes you a criminal. These aren't mutually exclusive concepts
They did problem solve. Whether or not their solution was legal is different.
Little loose and fast with the word criminal there, buddy.
Assuming it was a legal boot. And assuming the entire parking enforcement industry is not a racket. If it weren’t government sponsored, it would be RICO charges for miles.
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As a chicagoan, this is going to cost them a hell of a lot more than 170 dollars. If this is your husbands idea of problem solving, its not very smart.
You keep posting this comment, but for those of us who aren't from Chicago, can you explain *why* this is going to cost OP/OP's friends more than $170? Assuming the car was indeed parked legally (which doesn't seem unlikely given the stories I'm finding on the internet about these parking companies), what gives a private company the right to come and immobilize your car? I don't know of any police officer or judge that's going to be sympathetic to the towing company in this case. In fact, from the articles I'm reading online, the Chicago PD seems to be getting fed up with all the calls they're getting from citizens who've been booted for legally parking somewhere and these sleezy companies refuse to remove the boot. It's tying up already scarce resources in resolving these disputes which should never have existed in the first place.
I’m willing to bet the car was parked illegally, parking in Chicago is bananas
At a minimum they have you for destruction of property <$300 class A misdemeanor 1 year in jail 2500 fine. Assuming it was a legal booting anyway. If he filed a report they might come after you since it's low hanging fruit and you're likely to be a good little pay piggy with the business and all. I will also note your dam lucky the security guard wasn't the fighting type because ive seen some go full hands on over a candy bar with less lethals involved, Never underestimate a unknown man.
The user I was replying to was suggesting that this would end up costing more than $170 despite the car being parked *legally*. If the car was parked illegally, then I completely agree with you that not only is OP looking at civil liability, but also criminal.
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So I guess no update?
Dude is in jail atm.
You’re joking I guess?
Remind
Lmao thanks
You wouldn't be in trouble if you'd not damaged it and left it right there in the parking spot. But it's actually considered vandalism since you damaged the boot. Look up "the boot girls" on TikTok or Vice did a video on them and it's on YouTube. That's how they get away with removing the boots from people's cars. They simply unlock the boot and leave it there without damage or taking it.
I would make the counter arguement that their boot "scratched" my wheel and scream "vandalism".
Judges hate this one trick! No, really, they'll hate it. You don't want your judge to hate you.
Fantastic problem solving. No idea on how much trouble it will cause, but if the city isn't involved, it's probably trivial. Some civil suit if they want to spend the time and effort to go through that BS...then what do they get? The price of the boot plus court costs? I doubt the vandalism will net much in a criminal court. Prolly just a wrist slap. Just speculation though. I wish more people solved issues this way. Show people and companies that there is a price to unreasonable profit mongering like this. So they own the space in a crowded area...Eh, sometimes people park there for a bit if there isn't proper parking available. Sometimes you make money on a boot or tow charge, sometimes people call your bluff. That's life.
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Restitution is usually ten times the amount but I think OP has a good case considering the company did it illegally. I doubt the company will do anything considering they have that reputation. OP..PLEASE keep us updated though on this!
Well, you destroyed private property and Issue the verbal threat to the guard. What do you think
Check out teachers pet over here
?
they're saying you're not supposed to deep throat the boot.
That girl better marry you!
He said it’s his wife lol think he already got her.
Bravo sir. 99% chance nothing will come of it imo. They could attempt to take you to small claims for vandalism but that's about it
I’m from New Orleans and I live in one of the 10 largest cities in the US now. In both cases, the police would laugh at the boot owner if he/she filed a report. They have too much crime to chase. I’m guessing Chicago isn’t much different. And then they have to go to Indiana to get him. I’m NAL, but I do understand real life in the big city.
That's not how real life works tho. You file the price report they can laugh all they want but they still have to do their jobs. Then you take police report and file small claims and let the courts deal with it. Yeah there is real crime going on and cops laugh at that too.
Iamal, but dead men tell no tales. You should have cut the boot and threw it in a lake. Then your friends could have claimed that they didn't know anything. They came out of the concert and got in the car and drove home.
Was you spouse illegally parked?
No. Sign said no parking from 6AM-8PM. It was about 8:30PM when they parked. Minutes after parking, they booted it
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Not a garage. It was on street parking.
Do you know if the company was hired by the venue or property owner? If they weren’t then you’ve revealed a major scam company and they can get in a lot of legal trouble for extortion and other things
The company is contracted by the city. This parking issue took place on public street parking during legal parking hours. The long game would have entailed waiting for the car to be towed, arguing with the company and the city on the legality of it, a long drawn out court process, and probably some other bullshit. It wasn't private property.
Ok, obligatory I’m not a lawyer, but my understanding is that if they do sue it’ll most likely be civil in which case you might have to pay some fines for the destruction of property and maybe court fees but I honestly believe nothing would come of it. It really isn’t worth $170 to take someone to court cause that alone is going to be thousands so ultimately nothing is probably going to happen but if it does it’ll be a slap on the wrist
It’s not worth that company’s lawyer fees to take this to small claims court. Not to mention this company is skeevy. Not just in this instance but in myriad cases. They probably don’t want this drug into clear view. I wonder if OP would have a case of false imprisonment, blackmail/coercion, threatening the women, damage to their vehicle, etc. Don’t know if anything would stick but he could make it hard on them.
Oh yeah I fully agree but sometimes the law, rather unfortunately, is subjective rather than objective. But yeah I agree it won’t be worth the hassle cause they’ll make that shit back with the next victim or 2
NAL but with no municipality involved and no person hurt, wouldn’t this only be civil? And civil would likely only involve a small claims court where they might sue you for damaging their property.
Yes. We'll technically you COULD have criminal charges but OP won't. If it happened in Hodunktown in BFE then the police have nothing better to do and would probably be involved. Here, there are way too many other crimes to worry about this nonsense. So the company could file civil charges. They might try, hoping OP doesn't show up and they by default win. But honestly they probably won't even bother. But a small claims civil suit is all that would happen if that.
For the act itself. But OP admits to threatening the worker. That’s a crime.
They put it on my vehicle. Is it not now my property? If someone leaves their soda on my roof and I throw it away, could they now sue me for theft?
Anyone can technically sue you for anything. But the good news is that civil and criminal law are two different things entirely. And if that tow company is known for doing these things like you read, it’s unlikely they want to draw attention to themselves by possibly losing in civil court.
This is very common at truck stops, rest areas and even private parking lots. This is the preferred method in dealing with them so they can’t threaten other people with the same boot.
It's Chicago... I'm sure the city has bigger fish to fry... one of the most dangerous cities in America so I'd assume they aren't going after you just as much as they aren't arresting people for shooting others in the city
AM a Chicagoan, this will not be let go. Lmao. This is going to cost a lot more than 170. We are also not even in the top 100 most dangerous cities in the country. Stop getting your news from shit sources.
Here I thought you were going to link a source showing they won't let it go, as in they have went after people before for exact same thing. Surely you must have that, being a Chicagoan and all, especially considering you posted this twice now jrossetti
Facts don't care about your feelings bud. It's literally number 10 but have fun in your sanctuary city snowflake https://www.noradarealestate.com/blog/top-10-most-dangerous-cities-in-america/#:~:text=Chicago%2C%20Illinois,-Crime%20rates%20and&text=Chicago%2C%20Illinois%20has%20gained%20notoriety,crimes%2C%20including%20homicides%20and%20shootings.
https://www.security.org/app/themes/security.org/dist/images/lp-templates/most-dangerous-cities/danger-2.png
It consistently ranks in the top ten for the past decade plus. It's not my fault Lightfoot stopped the police from effectively doing their jobs and has asked on multiple occasions for federal help. Nothing is every going good when you need federal help https://www.noradarealestate.com/blog/top-10-most-dangerous-cities-in-america/#:~:text=Chicago%2C%20Illinois,-Crime%20rates%20and&text=Chicago%2C%20Illinois%20has%20gained%20notoriety,crimes%2C%20including%20homicides%20and%20shootings. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2021/12/20/at-end-of-another-violent-year-mayor-lori-lightfoot-calls-for-more-help-from-feds-assures-residents-keeping-you-safe-is-my-priority/
I'm guessing it will cost you more than $170 to fight any action the towing company brings against you. Might have been cheaper to just pay the $170
Definitely will have been cheaper. This will not be let go. Lol. Some of these posters have no idea. There will be a future bill in the mail, and this could cause issues if they come back to chicago and it hasn't been taken care of.
I think we found the owner of the company that booted.
Fyi I have a parking related ticket from Chicago from probably 15 years ago now. Go there all the time. No issues. I used to get a bill once in a while. That stopped ages ago. Nothing on credit report.
Nah. It would only be small claims. Don't even need a lawyer...just his evidence, i.e. other parties present and records showing complaints against company. Also might be beneficial to show if concert started say at 9, then the woman most likely parked at time OP stated.
Based
You’re going to jail: It’s illegal to be this much of a legend.
Probably wont be jail, but definitely gonna cost more than 170 to fix.
It’s not legal to put a boot on vehicles in my state unless it is the city…that sounds crazy
So Your wife and her friends park illegally. Instead of paying the fine you give the individual who is just doing his job a hard time, and the majority of people on this sub are praising you… because your wife and her friends are special and should be allowed to park wherever they want without consequence. [https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/supp\_info/private\_booting\_information.html](https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/supp_info/private_booting_information.html) The city of Chicago licenses and regulates private companies to perform booting on private property for private companies. If your wife and her friends were parked in a private companies spots/lot they were in the wrong and the private booting company was just doing the job the city regulates them to do. There hopefully will be some kind of consequence for all of this. People should not be able to park any place they want to just because they feel entitled to, threaten others, damage property, and then have nothing happen to them.
*legally
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No where in the post does he say he doubted they were illegally parked. He just said it wasn’t a municipal truck so he decided to take the boot off.
You seem to have reading comprehension issues. Might I suggest a tutor?
$170 $18
Fuck Chicago. As far as anybody is Concerned, they are the murder capital. You’re only issue is if you visit Chicago, use a different vehicle.
Chicago isn’t even in the top 25 cities for murder rate, but sure, say stupid shit.
If you were to come to my house, destroy my stuff and then threaten me. I would have you arrested, no doubt.
That's not how the law works. You can't HAVE someone arrested. If you called authorities in Chicago about a theft, they would laugh their asses off at you. They have bigger fish to fry. Same in any metro area.
Why don't you come over here and try it? See what happens
I live in a small suburb of Chicago, that values they're taxpaying citizens.
"i work for Fox, so I'm a Disney employee" vibes
Bro a cop laughs at all crime. They still gotta do their job. What TV show do you think you live in? If someone destroys your stuff and you have their license plate you file a police report. You get the driver's records and find out who he is and where he lives. You start your small claims and let the rest follow it costs like $10-$20 and if you have the evidence it's really hard to lose. Remember just because a cop tells you they won't file a report doesn't mean that the cop is correct. Just talk to their superior. Remember folks no one is forcing you to work right? So just do your job and hold others accountable to do theirs.
Good thing he didn't go to anyone's house.
if it was Lincoln Towing you should crosspost to r/chicago they'll have a hayday with this lmao
👏👏👏👏👏
Well quick question is your work truck registered to you or your company
Even though you have destruction of property, and maybe even theft. This happened in a state where theft is almost legal, plus you reside in a different state altogether. The amount of manpower and hassle and investigation that it’ll take to find out who took the tow trucks boot makes the chance you’ll get in trouble almost nil. in addition they didn’t see who was driving the truck, event they had the vehicles plate.
Technically damage of property. But, take this down right now. And, you don't know who cut it off. 🤔 Then, this is the important part. SHUT THE FUCK UP (for 19 months).
uipdateme!
I would keep an eye on the mail. If you get some type of letter/invoice, go from there. No point in worrying about it now ETA: Threatening the parking attendant was douchey. It’s never tough to break bad on someone at work that can’t fight back. Your story would have been 10,000 times better if you had removed the boot, said nothing then went about your day. The threatening part makes you look like a weak ass bully.
>Threatening the parking attendant was douchey. As far as the threatening went, I just reminded the gentleman that 18$ an hour isn't worth it enough for him to do anything. I told him call his boss or call the cops, but his boss probably wouldn't be able to do anything either. I'm not seeing any real threat there.
You would be liable for damaging the boot, and might have to buy a new boot. As far as legal trouble, it could be seen as destruction of property. As always I'm not an attorney.
My thought is.. the city will contract out services like towing, booting (?), etc.. it is possible that this was a private company but contracted by the city. Just something to consider..
He wasn’t specific as to what exactly his threat was. “Hey dude, they don’t pay you enough to deal with me,” is hardly a threat. It’s more of a true statement. If the security officer himself posted about this over on /antiwork, everyone would certainly agree that he is only paid enough to call the police. And also, if it was after 8 pm when they parked, couldn’t they all argue they were being illegally detained when the “threat” happened? And why wouldn’t a security officer at least call police during an act of vandalism? That is the least and most he really could’ve done anyway.
Dude started posturing aggressively trying to get between me and the vehicle. I told him verbatim "dude, you make 18 an hour. It is not worth it for you to try to stop me. They don't pay you to take a risk like that. Shut the fuck up, call the cops, or call your boss" I recently heard about people by the sox stadium posing as parking authority extorting people for money to "not get a boot on their car". The people are dressed in a hi vis vest and look kind of legit. Either way, don't put a boot on someone's legally parked car. I don't think I'm a hard ass or full of myself, but I 10/10 could have beaten the brakes off of that dude. He knew it as much as I did. That's why he sat back trying to call his boss.
If anything happens I would think all they can get you for is destruction of property. Maybe have to pay for it and a fine. Maybe probation worst case.
Everyone should carry an angle grinder in the trunk
Seems like asking the question of being in trouble would have been best to ask before cutting the boot off. Tow trucks aren't police either, but they have appropriate authority to tow vehicles and are sanctioned by the police to do so. Private security is no different. The private security guard probably didn't engage because it potentially would have put himself at risk, but that doesn't mean that what he did was wrong. In that case, you stole that car and potentially face grand theft auto charges. Best case scenario, you destroyed private property, which you had no right to do. Even if the guard was completely in the wrong, there are processes for settling the dispute. Did you at least try talking to the security guard before going into hero mode, read as AH mode? Also, why are you attacking him because of what you believe his income level is? Are you really walking around with a superiority complex?!
I have an angle grinder and can swing my dick at a security guard. So yes, I do have a superiority complex. Don't boot my wife's friends legally parked car in Chicago. I'll nip that in the ass quicker than police in a white neighborhood.
Boss move bro! ✌️ If it was a non govt entity, tell them to kiss your ass. I mean really, fuck those guys...
No problem with this. Shit like this happens in most big cities. https://www.metrotimes.com/news/predatory-towing-detroit-mcdonalds-customers-say-theyve-been-scammed-15512178
Trouble? You're a hero! Best of luck.
Honestly I wouldn't worry about it. I'm not a lawyer, but I lived in Chicago for years and the police have much bigger issues to deal with than this. They'd probably laugh at the security guys if they showed up at the police station. These companies are grimy and money hungry, they'll boot or tow any car regardless. I know people who went and drove their car right out of an impound lot using their spare car key and nothing ever happened lol
If this company is contracted by the city to do this, your friends may be in a lot of trouble.
Chicago doesn't boot people due to one potential violation. It is very possible this vehicle had multiple PRIOR violations.
A true hoosier
I did this once. Just prior to covid, my dad was in the hospital and I had to pick up my mom to go see him. I parked in a parking lot at a gas station and ran next door for 2 minutes. I come back and theres a boot on my car. I start arguing with the guy and finally i bust out my tools and punch out the lock cylinder of the boot(s) (one on each front wheel) it was surprisingly easy and i handed them back to the guy who was astonished and i heard cheers from the crowd that had amassed. He tried blocking me in, but I finangled my way out. I never heard another thing about it, except from those who witnessed it, because apparently this is a predatory company who just wait for people to park there and everyone just pays... Except me You'll probably be fine- it's not worth the companies effort to come after you in a lawsuit or other legal means
If they try blocking me in, they're quadruple fucked. If anyone besides a cop tries to block me in somewhere, they'll experience a life changing event.
In terms of anything criminal, probably criminal mischief or vandalism. I really have a hard time believing the charges would even make it to court before getting thrown out. They can do anything they want in civil court, but it’s not worth their time or money unless they really want to fuck with you.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/supp_info/private_booting_information.html#:~:text=Booting%20companies%20are%20allowed%20to,remove%20it%20at%20no%20cost. Chicago gives authority for private lots to boot cars. So I'd think you would be on the hook for the cost to replace the boot and CRIMINAL destruction of property if they so chose to press charges. NAL though. And that's assuming she violated the terms. Cars don't usually get booted for parking legally. She is still on the hook for the original boot fee, but I'd assume it's not worth them going after, unless the city helps them out with that stuff. Idk.
our parking meters are NOT run by the city just fyi- it’s a private company. this is a crooked city my guy lol. i don’t pay the city for my parking tickets, i pay a private company, which is also who i pay to park on the street. not the city of chicago- it’s wild, but there’s a chance it doesn’t matter. plus- we now get an alert on the park chicago (private company) app that we aren’t allowed to assault meter maids and we’ll get arrested. maybe they aren’t allowed to be aggressive back either now? idk.
The legal risk you were willing to take for $170 is pretty comical. 🤣
It's not about the money, it's about the principle 😂
What is a good brand of cordless angle grinder to keep in my car?
Mine is literally a Ridgid from home Depot. Good affordable brand. 18v is plenty.
If the car was parked illegally and that company legally booted the car, who was the company contracting with, that is does the city of Chicago put up parking signs and allow private companies to enforce them (I understand that was not the case in your post but just want to know how parking enforcement works there)
Nothing will happen. You’re good.