Chicago Parking Ticket Time Limits vs. NYC Time Limits

Chicago	NYC
7 days to file a defense to a parking ticket from date of issuance	30 days to file a defense from date of issuance
Additional 14 days to request a hearing if you miss the first 7 days	$10 penalty assessed on the 31st day $20 penalty on the 46th day
If no defense filed, a default is entered. You have 21 days to petition to set aside the default	$30 penalty assessed on the 76th  day
After 21 days, You’re toast! Ca-ching	Default judgment enter approximately 100 days after issuance

Time Limits for Appeals

• You have 35 days to appeal a guilty finding for a Chicago parking ticket
• You have 30 days to appeal a guilty finding for a NYC parking ticket

What are your standard, run of the mill, defenses?

The Municipal Code of Chicago allows the following defenses for most parking and compliance tickets. They are:

1. The respondent was not the owner or lessee of the cited vehicle at the time of the violation;
2. The cited vehicle or its state registration plates (license plates) were stolen at the time of the violation;
3. The relevant signs prohibiting or restricting parking were missing or obscured;
4. The relevant parking meter was inoperable or malfunctioned through no fault of the respondent;
5. The facts alleged in the parking or compliance violation notice are inconsistent or do not support a finding that the specified regulation was violated (e.g., motorists may contest a city sticker violation if they have resided in Chicago for less than 30 days or the cited vehicle was purchased in the last 30 days; tinted windows comply with the medical use requirement of 625 ILCS 5/12-503(g); the residential parking permit was issued to a delivery, service, or repair vehicle or home health care provider doing business with or assisting a resident of the zone; etc.);
6. The illegal vehicle condition did not exist at the time of the compliance violation;
7. The illegal vehicle condition was corrected prior to the hearing (Note: this defense does not apply to city sticker violations (§ 9-64-125), muffler or exhaust violations (§ 9-76-140(a)), missing plate violations (§ 9-76-160(a)), expired registration violations (§ 9-76-160(f)), and tinted window violations (§ 9-76-220)).