Palatine voters preyed on by tow company

My voting location is at the Palatine Public Library. There are large office building parking lots across the street, that have posted tow signs.

Since this lot is vacant in the evening when I vote, I have in past years parked there for the few minutes it takes to vote. Although the signs do not specify hours of No Parking, my assumption is their intent is to provide adequate parking for the office building's employees and clients during working hours.

This past election day I parked my car to vote at the library. A distraught woman sat on the curb awaiting a ride.

She informed me her car had been towed and advised me not to leave my car in the lot, noting she had only been in the library a few minutes to vote. She noted there was a “spotter” in the building calling for tows. I moved my car.

When I arrived home, I mentioned the woman's plight to my wife and commented on how “un-American” it was to have a towing firm prey on voters at night when the lot was vacant and of no inconvenience to the landlord or tenant.

I suspect by now the landlord is aware of the towing service's plan to prey on voters. If so, I hope the he has reprimanded the service or better yet, replaced the service with a reputable firm.

An hour or so later, my son called us from the library asking for a ride to pick up his new car at the towing service. He had rushed out to Palatine from the city to cast his vote before the polls closed.

How patriotic, only to be preyed on for $150 by the “un-American” towing service.

I've been told the library has signs at their main entrance advising people not to park in this lot, but I've never seen one. I can't help but wonder if most evening voters think of the parking lot signs as a deterrent to day use of the library, as I do, rather than applicable to evening voters when the lot is empty.

How un-American!

Erv Walz

Palatine