If you haven’t been able to move your car during self-isolation, focus on staying safe; the city of Chicago has your back.
Good news for Chicagoans that might be struggling to pay their debts during the coronavirus crisis. Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the city will temporarily suspend all debt collection practices, and non-safety related traffic and parking citations as well as impounds and penalties for late payments on utility bills.
This relief package is the first step in many efforts Lightfoot’s administration plans to enact in order to reduce the financial impact the coronavirus has on Chicagoans. It goes into effect March 18 through April 30, 2020.
“We realize that many of our residents are strapped for cash right now as the effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus has created difficult economic circumstances for those who are unable to work,” says Mayor Lightfoot “We don’t want to further impact people who can’t afford to pay these penalties today and want to provide some breathing room to help them prioritize how to address their financial obligations.”
According to the City of Chicago’s press release, the new relief efforts include:
- Ticket Issuance
- Enforcement will be prioritized for safety-related violations.
- Enforcement on compliance-related violations will be suspended until April 30, 2020
- Parking, Red Light, Speed Camera Violation Collections
- Delay assessment of penalty (ticket doubling) until after April 30, 2020
- Delay driver’s license suspension until after April 30, 2020
- No Booting until after April 30, 2020
- Delay referral of tickets to collection firms until after April 30, 2020
- No defaults of payment plans for until after April 30, 2020
- Utility Bills
- Extend due dates until after April 30, 2020 delaying assessment of penalties
- Delay referrals to collection firms until after April 30, 2020
- No defaults of payment plans until after April 30, 2020
- Administrative Hearing Collections
- Extend due dates until after April 30, 2020 (this will delay assessment of interest)
- Delay referrals to collection firms until after April 30, 2020
- No defaults of payment plans until after April 30, 2020
- Other Collection Efforts
- Extend deadline for TNP and taxi drivers to pay debt to April 30
- No debt holds on new licenses or permits