I sent this to a site I adore, The Expired Meter, but I suspect our hero the parking geek is running behind. So after a month, here’s my story of how I learned about how secure our city stickers are.
As a ten year resident of Chicago, I finally broke down and got a car. I have deeding parking in my apartment, so generally I don’t have a lot of worries. Still, I know that to park on a Chicago City Street I need a special sticker.
When I got the car (Nov 13) I was told the dealer would get my license plate within 60 days, but I needed to pay for the City Sticker on my own. Within 30 days. I waited 28 days and, when it was clear I wouldn’t get the plate within the 30 days, I went downtown to City Hall (I work nearby) and got a sticker for my dealer plates. At the time I asked ‘I know the sticker has my dealer plate on it. Do I need to trade that in when I get real plates?’
The lady said yes, but promised me I wouldn’t have to pay again. Great!
On January 7th, I went back down, having gotten my plates, and said I needed ‘real’ stickers. I had not brought my sticker in, since I didn’t really want a ticket, and my neighbor (who parks beside me) just got one. They said I needed the sticker and promised that any tickets within 30 days of the new plates being issued would be dismissed. Of course I asked for a print copy of the law that said they can’t ticket me, to keep with my insurance issue.
Instead I got one that stated, and I quote “Motorists CAN NOT receive a ticket for having … an inaccurate license plate number … printed on their sticker.”
So while you have to have your license plate on the sticker, there’s no law that says the plate has to match yours. It’s a ‘security’ feature only. Which is amusing to me. How does it secure anything if no one checks it?