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Guides and research: how towing works in Chicago
Plain-language guides for people who were towed, and the audits, reports and court rulings behind them. Each summary is ours; follow the link to read the original.
Newest first. Government reports are public records; the others belong to their authors, so we link to them and do not post copies.
Audit of the Department of Streets and Sanitation's Administration of Auto Pounds
Audit · City of Chicago Office of Inspector General · · Covers: City of Chicago
Finds that about 72% of 2023 impounds went to the two contractor-run pounds, where redemption rates were lower; that only 2% of damage claims were marked for possible payment; and that pickup rules on documents and payment are unclear (people who are not the registered owner were required to pay in cash, with no ATM on site). It notes many of the same problems were raised in a City report in 1992.
Why it matters: The most detailed official look at what happens at Chicago's pounds.
The audit's field work ended in October 2024; the department says some problems have been fixed since.
Revenue proposal: increased towing and storage fees
Bill analysis · Chicago City Council Office of Financial Analysis · · Covers: City of Chicago
Weighs raising the City's tow and storage fees against the added hardship for low-income owners, using the City's estimate of about 100,000 tows a year. The City later raised the fees in December 2025.
Why it matters: Context for the December 2025 fee increase.
Chicago police impounded 250,000 vehicles since 2010
News report · WBEZ · · Covers: City of Chicago
Reports on police impounds under the Vehicle Impoundment Program: about 22,000 a year, more than $600 million in related fines and fees owed, concentration in Black neighborhoods, and the reform package then before the City Council.
Why it matters: Background for the July 2020 impound reforms.
Bill analysis · Chicago City Council Office of Financial Analysis · · Covers: City of Chicago
Estimates that about 21,000 unclaimed cars a year were disposed of by scrap sale at an average of $454, with the City keeping about 42%, and that the sale credit covered less than a third of the storage fees owed.
Why it matters: Shows how little a scrapped car pays toward the owner's debt.
A data project on the City's towing and booting: about 94,000 tows in 2017, roughly one in four impounded cars never returned to the owner, and program revenue only slightly above its costs.
Why it matters: Puts the City's tow and sale numbers in one place.
Chicago Seizes And Sells Cars Over Tickets, Sticking Drivers With Debt
News report · WBEZ and ProPublica Illinois · · Covers: City of Chicago
Reports that the City impounded and sold nearly 50,000 cars over unpaid tickets from 2011 on, mostly to its towing contractor for scrap prices, with the sale money not reducing the owners' ticket debt, and that the burden fell most on South and West Side neighborhoods.
Why it matters: Explains how ticket debt led to car sales and how the 2019-2020 reforms started.
Court rulings about towing in Chicago. A case decides the dispute in front of the court; whether it applies to a tow depends on the facts.
Towers v. City of Chicago, 173 F.3d 619 (7th Cir.) (). A federal appeals court upheld City ordinances that made owners pay a $500 penalty and fees when their cars were found with illegal drugs or unregistered guns, rejecting due process and other challenges.
Jackson v. City of Chicago, 2012 IL App (1st) 111044 (). An Illinois appellate court upheld the ordinances that let the City impound a car containing drugs or cannabis and charge the owner a penalty.
Bell v. City of Chicago, 835 F.3d 736 (7th Cir.) (). A federal appeals court rejected a Fourth Amendment challenge to the City's impound ordinances, including the use of a City administrative law judge to decide probable cause.
Lintzeris v. City of Chicago, 2023 IL 127547 (). The Illinois Supreme Court held that the City's home-rule power allows administrative penalties for impounded vehicles and that the Vehicle Code does not preempt the ordinance.
Davis v. City of Chicago, No. 19-cv-3691 (N.D. Ill.) (). A 2019 class action challenging the City's impound program; the district court entered judgment for the City on March 27, 2025. We have not yet checked for an appeal.