Unpaid parking tickets can lead to ‘boot’ in Addison

After nearly a decade hiatus, the Addison Police Department has relaunched its vehicle boot program.

Police said the program will target vehicles with three or more unpaid parking tickets, and those drivers already have received numerous warnings to pay their fines.

“The people who end up getting booted have gotten so many letters in the mail as their unpaid tickets move up the fine scale, it’s just astronomical,” said Larry Stoll, police records director.

The cost to get a boot removed is $180. But that is coupled with half the overdue parking fines for violators who request an administrative hearing, as well as any applicable court, towing and storage fees. Residents can forgo a hearing and pay the fees in full, saving court costs.

All the vehicles on the current “boot list” have racked up a total of about $300,000 in fines, Stoll said. He added that some individual owners have unpaid fines totaling $7,000.

Since the village announced the program this month, several residents paid their fines and two cars were booted; police said those owners owed $1,000 and $2,375 in overdue fines, respectively.

Any car owner who ends up on the list will get another warning letter before they discover their car is immobilized.

“They still have time to rectify things,” Stoll said.

Owners then can pay their outstanding fines or request a hearing to avoid the boot, which is applied by Bloomingdale Towing. Stoll said Addison has had contracts with the company for several years for other towing needs, and this service allows officers to do other work.

When the program began years ago, Addison police were responsible for booting cars.