[Amended 5-15-2012 by Ord. No. 12-1425]
A. The abandonment of a vehicle or any part thereof on any highway in this Village is unlawful and subject to penalties as set forth under §
322-50 of this article.
B. The abandonment of a vehicle or any part thereof on private or public property, other than a highway, in view of the general public, anywhere in this Village is unlawful except on property of the owner or bailee of such abandoned vehicle. A vehicle or any part thereof so abandoned on private property shall be authorized for removal, by the Village, after a waiting period of seven days or more, or may be removed immediately if determined to be a hazardous dilapidated motor vehicle under 65 ILCS 5/11-40-3.1. A violation of Subsection
A or
B of this section is subject to penalties as set forth under §
322-50 of this article.
C. A towing service may begin to process an unclaimed vehicle as abandoned
by requesting a record search by the Secretary of State up to 10 days
after the date of the tow, or any later date acceptable to the Secretary
of State. This subsection shall not apply to vehicles towed by order
or authorization of the Village or a law enforcement agency.
(625 ILCS 5/4-201)
When an abandoned, lost, stolen or unclaimed vehicle comes into
the temporary possession or custody of a person in this Village who
is not the owner of the vehicle, such person shall immediately notify
the municipal police when the vehicle is within the corporate limits
of any Village having a duly authorized police department, or the
State Police or the county sheriff when the vehicle is outside the
corporate limits of the Village. Upon receipt of such notification,
the municipal police will authorize a towing service to remove and
take possession of the abandoned, lost, stolen or unclaimed vehicle.
The towing service will safely keep the towed vehicle and its contents,
maintain a record of the tow as set forth in 625 ILCS 5/4-204 for
law enforcement agencies, until the vehicle is claimed by the owner
or any other person legally entitled to possession thereof or until
it is disposed of as provided in this chapter. (625 ILCS 5/4-202)
When a vehicle is authorized to be towed away as provided in §
322-37 or §
322-38:
A. The authorization, any hold order, and any release shall be in writing,
or confirmed in writing, with a copy given to the towing service.
B. The police headquarters or office of the law enforcement officer
authorizing the towing shall keep and maintain a record of the vehicle
towed, listing the color, year of manufacture, manufacturer's trade
name, manufacturer's series name, body style, vehicle identification
number, license plate year and number and registration sticker year
and number displayed on the vehicle. The record shall also include
the date and hour of tow, location towed from, location towed to,
reason for towing and the name of the officer authorizing the tow.
C. The owner, operator, or other legally entitled person shall be responsible
to the towing service for payment of applicable removal, towing, storage,
and processing charges and collection costs associated with a vehicle
towed or held under order or authorization of the law enforcement
agency. If a vehicle towed or held under order or authorization of
a law enforcement agency is seized by the ordering or authorizing
agency or any other law enforcement or governmental agency and sold,
any unpaid removal, towing, storage, and processing charges and collection
costs shall be paid to the towing service from the proceeds of the
sale. If applicable law provides that the proceeds are to be paid
into the treasury of the appropriate civil jurisdiction, then any
unpaid removal, towing, storage, and processing charges and collection
costs shall be paid to the towing service from the treasury of the
civil jurisdiction. That payment shall not, however, exceed the amount
of proceeds from the sale, with the balance to be paid by the owner,
operator, or other legally entitled person.
D. Upon delivery of a written release order to the towing service, a
vehicle subject to a hold order shall be released to the owner, operator,
or other legally entitled person upon proof of ownership or other
entitlement and upon payment of applicable removal, towing, storage,
and processing charges and collection costs.
(625 ILCS 5/4-204)
When the registered owner, lienholder or other person legally entitled to the possession of a vehicle cannot be identified from the registration files of this state or from the registration files of a foreign state, if applicable, the law enforcement agency having custody of the vehicle shall notify the State Police, for the purpose of identifying the vehicle owner or other person legally entitled to the possession of the vehicle. The information obtained by the State Police will be immediately forwarded to the law enforcement agency having custody of the vehicle for notification purposes as set forth in §
322-40 of this chapter. (625 ILCS 5/4-206)
[Amended 9-23-2003 by Ord. No. 03-1337]
A. Any time before a vehicle is sold at public sale or disposed of as provided in §
322-43, the owner, lienholder or other person legally entitled to its possession may reclaim the vehicle by presenting to the law enforcement agency having custody of the vehicle proof of ownership or proof of the right to possession of the vehicle.
B. No vehicle shall be released to the owner, lienholder, or other person
under this section until all towing, storage, and processing charges
have been paid.
(625 ILCS 5/4-207)
Any hazardous dilapidated motor vehicle impounded pursuant to
the provisions of this article and 65 ILCS 5/11-40-3.1, whether impounded
at a public facility or on the property of a private towing service,
shall be kept in custody for a period of 10 days for the purpose of
determining the identity of the registered owner or lienholder and
contacting such owner or lienholder, if known, by regular U.S. Mail.
At the expiration of the ten-day period, without benefit of disposition
information being received from the registered owner or lienholder,
the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction will authorize the
disposal of the vehicle as junk. (65 ILCS 5/4-209.1)
In an action to collect towing, storage, and processing charges
that remain unpaid after disposition of a vehicle towed or relocated
under this article, the towing service may recover reasonable collection
costs.
When a vehicle in the custody of the Village or law enforcement
agency is reclaimed by the registered owner, lienholder or other legally
entitled person, or when the vehicle is sold at public sale or otherwise
disposed of as provided in this article, a report of the transaction
will be maintained by that law enforcement agency for a period of
one year from the date of the sale or disposal. (625 ILCS 5/4-210)