North Cook News

State Sen. Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) is sponsoring a bill which would require property owners to contact residents by phone call, text message, or email before towing a resident's car. Current law only requires property owners to provide a written message, which a resident might not have time to receive before the car is towed, according to a release from Murphy's office. 

Senate Bill 3629 recently passed the Senate with bipartisan support and will now be considered by the House.

“Towing a resident’s car without their knowledge creates many issues for the car owner – finding the money to get the car back, finding alternative transportation to work, running late for work and many other issues," Murphy said in the press release. "We must ensure that car owners are receiving appropriate notice before their car is towed. Having your car towed can be extremely inconvenient, costly and frustrating. I know most residents would do anything they can to prevent it from happening. This bill will make sure property owners actually make contact with a vehicle owner before towing their vehicle without their knowledge, so that residents have all the information they need to act if their car is at risk of being towed.”

The owner of a vehicle that has been towed could end up paying as much as $1,000 in fines to get it back, according to the City of Chicago's web site. The city notes that "involuntary surrender of your vehicle to the city does not waive or decrease any outstanding debt you owe the city."

The U.S. towing industry is worth more than $8 billion, according to Car and Driver. Car and Driver notes that Illinois has some of the "strongest protections" for people whose cars have been towed.