Remember 'Lincoln Park Pirates'? Predatory towing companies may face new roadblocks

SPRINGFIELD — Decades of predatory towing practices in Illinois have led to pulled licenses, a name change, at least one folk song and many a frustrated driver.

Now state legislators have proposed a bill to curb towing companies’ ability to take advantage of car owners whose vehicles crash or break down.

The bill would give the Illinois Commerce Commission the authority to crack down on businesses that use loopholes under current laws and hold towing firms accountable, said state Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago.

The commission has fined repeat offenders hundreds of thousands of dollars, but many of these fines go unpaid, while some bad actors continue operating by renaming their businesses.

Lincoln Towing, rebranded Protective Parking Corporation in 2019, gained an infamous status in the Chicago area for towing cars since the late 1960s. Some of the cars they towed were parked illegally, but many were not.

That type of predatory towing was memorialized by the late folk singer Steve Goodman in his song, "Lincoln Park Pirates."

George Wiebe/Sun-Times

In 2018, the ICC revoked Lincoln Towing’s vehicle relocation license, after a probe that looked into allegations of 462 unauthorized tows and 369 instances in which the company used an unlicensed operator in an eight-month span from 2015 to 2016.

More than a year later, a Cook County judge reversed the state’s decision, ruling the ICC violated the towing outfit’s rights to due process.

Federal law prevents Illinois from regulating the price, routes and services of towing companies, but the state can regulate for safety, Villanueva said.

Unscrupulous towers regularly monitor police dispatches and rush to the scene of an accident, creating dangerous situations as they race down busy streets to arrive before competitors, state Rep. Will Davis, D-East Hazel Crest, said at a news conference promoting the bill Wednesday.

If passed, the bill would allow the impounding of tow trucks that violate state safety laws, revoke license plates of trucks with unpaid fines and prevent known violators from reregistering under a new name. Towing companies also would be allowed to tow a vehicle only to registered lots, repair shops or a specific destination requested by the motorist.

“One bill is never going to be the solution to everything,” Villanueva said. “But we’re trying to do what we can little by little in order to address the issue.”

George Wiebe/Sun-Times

Under the bill, towing companies also would be required to provide owners with essential items left behind in their vehicles, such as medication and identification documents.

In 2023, the ICC received more than 500 reports of predatory towing operations, primarily in the Chicago area, said Police Chief Ruben Ramirez of the ICC.

One of the most common reports relates to tow truck drivers lying about being called by a driver’s insurance company. Such tow truck drivers take advantage of someone caught up in the stress of an accident and tow the vehicle away before the owner can think to say no, Ramirez said.

“It’s unfair when people are doing what they’re supposed to be doing. They’re paying the parking rates," Villanueva said. "They’re trying to live their lives, and all of a sudden they’re out $300 because somebody decided, 'Well, this is a quick buck I can make.'"