CITY HALL — Parkers, you now have your own bill of rights.
The City Council signed off on a Towing Bill of Rights Wednesday, a day after the measure cleared the License Committee.
Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th) was lead sponsor of the measure, which he pushed through after months battling Lincoln Towing, 4882 N. Clark St., which he called "a bad operator."
Lincoln Towing was made infamous by Chicago folk singer Steve Goodman, who modeled a sea chantey after the firm in the '70s called "Lincoln Park Pirates."
"People around the city are sick and tired of being abused by tow-truck companies," Pawar said Wednesday in leading unanimous support in the Council for passage.
Earlier this year, Lincoln Towing attorney Allen Perl complained about "bullying" treatment before aldermen, and said ownership had changed since the '70s and the song no longer applied. But he did not respond to requests for comment on the Towing Bill of Rights.
Pawar's Towing Bill of Rights includes demands for towing firms to distribute a list of their rights to those who've had a car towed, while also calling for tows to be filmed with a dashcam.
Cars must be released if the owner arrives on the scene with keys before a car has been towed out of a lot. And owners can claim property from an impounded car without paying to have it returned.
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