City of Wheaton, IL

Wheaton Implements New Towing Ordinance for Unpaid Parking Tickets

Wheaton Informs
Vehicles with five or more unpaid parking tickets in the City of Wheaton may now be towed under a new ordinance approved by the Wheaton City Council. The ordinance addresses chronic parking violators whose repeated offenses have made it harder to navigate residential streets and find parking in downtown Wheaton.

Key aspects of the ordinance:
  • This ordinance only applies to unpaid parking tickets.
  • Tickets are issued to a vehicle using its license plate. A vehicle is eligible to be towed once it has accrued 5 unpaid parking tickets.
  • Once a vehicle is eligible to be towed, it will be stickered and a notice will be sent to the registered owner.
  • The vehicle owner has 7 days to pay all outstanding fines, or the vehicle may be towed at the owner’s expense without further notice.
“The majority of residents, employees and visitors follow our parking rules, and if they receive a ticket, they pay it,” said Wheaton Police Chief P.J. Youker. “For the small number of drivers who repeatedly park illegally and refuse to pay, this gives the City a necessary enforcement method and encourages compliance.”   

How to Check Whether You Have Unpaid Parking Tickets:
The City encourages drivers to check whether they have outstanding parking tickets. You can look up unpaid parking tickets by entering a license plate into both of the City’s parking systems (one is for downtown parking; the other covers the rest of the city). If you find that you have any outstanding parking tickets, you can pay online in this same place where you looked up your parking ticket, or you can pay at the Finance counter at City Hall, 303 W. Wesley St., during business hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. excluding City holidays.

Tickets from either system count toward the total number of unpaid tickets associated with a vehicle. If you have more than one vehicle, the City recommends you check each license plate in both systems for unpaid tickets, especially if the vehicle is used by more than one driver.

We appreciate your help in promptly resolving any outstanding fees associated with your vehicle. For more information about this ordinance, including frequently asked questions, see the City’s website.
 
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