And you’re having a bad day?

Living in Chicago has its ups and downs just like other cities do. I wasn’t born here, but have lived here for 10+ years now. I do love it – most of the time. Naturally, am not crazy about the cold weather, but who really is. A big thorn in Chicago’s side is the parking challenges, or shall I say, the City’s incredible appetite for parking ticket revenue. I know for a fact that Chicago’s police force – or at least most of the officers – is given ticket quotas. (I’d like to believe the police officer that told me this. And, yes, they are police officers to me not cops.)

It is what it is. I’m not arguing that if you overstay the meter or don’t pay it at all that you don’t deserve a ticket. I’m not arguing that if you are a habitual parking scofflaw (a word I had to look up to fully understand) that you don’t deserve a wheel boot. My issue is with the aggression and the unarguable quest for revenue. This is evident in the recent change from 5 unpaid tickets to 2 to make your car boot-eligible. I really did think laws were created to prevent crime. It is clear to me that Chicago’s parking enforcements are all about the cash.

Now, this is is a pic near my house from just this morning which looks like someone didn’t like the boot they got and tried to remove it. Didn’t work. (Click pics to see even bigger.)