There’s no way my husband’s going to pay a penny in late penalties.
So when it comes to renewing our city stickers, he wants to get it done long before the deadline. But because he needs a zoned sticker, the renewal process requires that he get the alderman’s approval.
“It’s another issue that speaks to local control that aldermen have. The idea behind the ‘exception letter’ is the aldermen get to decide, through their powers, how parking is regulated,” noted Patrick Corcoran, Communications Director for the City Clerk’s Office.
“It’s a judgment call. You might not live in the zone, but your address is close enough. Every year we want you to go back and get a letter from the alderman. It’s not a great system, but we will help facilitate [getting an exception letter],” he said.
Last year, my husband made several trips to the then alderman’s office before he was able to get his hands on the coveted “exception letter.”
Because our alderman, Gregory L. Mitchell (7th), is newly elected and didn’t have an office listed on the City Council’s website until Wednesday morning, it’s been impossible for my husband to get the required letter.
Frankly, it would seem to me that aldermen have bigger fish to fry.
I can see why they would have a say on business licenses, economic development, even street closures and permits needed for the annual neighborhood festivals and parades. But signing off on parking permits is a throwback to the days of kissing the pinky ring.
To get a zoned sticker, a resident has to either show up at the alderman’s office in person, or fax, or email documentation that proves he or she needs to park on a zoned street. If granted, the alderman’s staff will issue an “exception letter.”
Last year, I almost fainted standing in a long, winding line trying to get a sticker for my car. I wasn’t about to go through that again when the “exception letter” finally came through.
But thanks to major changes in the way city stickers are sold, including giving motorists the option of buying an extended city sticker, this year I was in and out of the clerk’s office with my sticker in a matter of minutes.
My husband will likely have to go to city clerk’s ward sale at 2401 E. 100th St. on June 8 to deal with his zoned sticker problem.
“During this transition period, we are making every effort to provide people with an extension for a year if they can show they had an exception the previous year,” Corcoran told me.
Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) said she doesn’t consider the “exception letter” task burdensome.
“We don’t have people coming to our office for that. We scan or email the letter,” Dowell said.
But she is planning to reconfigure parking permit zones in her ward given the development of the McCormick Place Event Center, a 10,000-seat sports venue expected to open in 2017.
“We are trying to rationalize these various parking zones to give more permit parking for residents,” she said.
Meanwhile, some friendly advice to the city’s new crop of aldermen: It’s not the big things but the little things that didn’t get done that likely led to your predecessor’s downfall.
Most Chicagoans are a lot like my husband. They just want to get stuff taken care of with the least aggravation possible.
