City Council targets predatory towing companies that still 'run rampant' in Chicago
City Council members are taking another crack at rogue towing operators who prowl for Chicago crash scenes, exploit rattled drivers and later shake them down for massive fees to retrieve their vehicles.
It’s a problem “that has just run rampant throughout the city” despite a 2021 ordinance that established a city licensing system for tow truck drivers, 36th Ward Ald. Gilbert Villegas said Tuesday.
The “rogue towing 2.0” crackdown would empower Chicago police to impound and tow the bad actors, Villegas told members of the council’s Committee on License and Consumer Protection.
The Illinois Commerce Commission regulates towing operators but doesn’t have the capacity “to put enough actual boots on the ground throughout the state,” Villegas said.
“The enforcement portion is where we were lacking, and what this ordinance does is allow for CPD to go ahead and tow the towers,” he said.
His proposed ordinance would also introduce a right-of-action clause that allows drivers and insurers to sue rogue tow truck drivers for damages.
“We're putting some teeth behind us in order to make sure that we can finally address this issue. I'm not here saying that this is the silver bullet. There may be a ‘rogue towing 3.0,’ as we continue to see these folks that are taking advantage of consumers,” Villegas said. “But we're gonna continue to try to flush out the bad actors in this space.”
It’s a difficult game of whack-a-mole with operators that ignore city fines, change company names and go on ensnaring drivers in vulnerable moments for thousands of dollars.
More than 500 predatory tows were reported in Illinois in 2023, mostly in the Chicago area, according to the ICC.
Rogue operators have fooled 92 rental car drivers in the city in the last year and a half, according to John O’Donnell of Enterprise Mobility.
“We believe this ordinance will give law enforcement the ability to reduce this issue, make our streets safer and allow legitimate tow companies to help at accident scenes,” O’Donnell told the committee.
State lawmakers are trying to take the same approach in Springfield with a pending bill that would allow the ICC to impound rogue operators.
Hundreds of legitimate tow companies have been licensed under the 2021 city ordinance, which requires a $250 fee for every truck and bars operators from stopping at crash scenes unless they’re summoned by the driver, law enforcement or other government officials.
Rogue operators can also face fines from the city’s Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Department for misleading drivers about who sent them or charging exorbitant “ransom” fees.
The License Committee unanimously advanced Villegas’ proposal Tuesday, teeing it up for a full City Council vote April 16.