Repeat parking offenders get the boot in Rolling Meadows

Rolling Meadows residents with too many outstanding parking tickets may soon find their car booted under a city ordinance that will start being enforced within a few months, officials said Tuesday.

Although the city council approved an ordinance for vehicle immobilization in December, a few changes to the wording were passed on first reading on Tuesday. Once those changes are finalized later this month, the police department will purchase two boots to crack down on frequent offenders in the city.

“There are a handful of cases who are repeat offenders that we felt we needed to take it to this step,” said Police Chief Dave Scanlan.

Cars with more than five outstanding parking violations will be subject to the boot, according to the ordinance.

On Tuesday the city added a traffic compliance administrator, which will either be the police chief or someone he designates, to be in charge of the booting program, a position that was left out of the original wording.

Fourteen days before the car is booted, the owner will be notified that he or she has a right to a hearing. If the tickets are not resolved within 48 hours of being booted, the car can be towed and impounded at the police chief's direction.

The vehicle immobilization fee will be $200 in addition to the costs that may be associated with towing, storage and the outstanding tickets. Anyone who moves a car with a boot on it or attempts to remove the boot without approval of the traffic compliance administrator will be fined up to $750 under the ordinance.

Scanlan said the boot is not something the city plans to use on a regular basis.

He added that Rolling Meadows looked to the policies in surrounding suburbs such as Schaumburg and Arlington Heights when planning for the vehicle boot ordinance.