‘Dibs’ objects to be removed by Chicago trash crews starting Tuesday

Crews will pick up unclaimed items along their daily garbage collection routes with special attention given to address 311 complaints.

By David Struett

Folding chairs were put in parking spots cleared along a street in the Bridgeport neighborhood after a snowstorm to reserve it. — These folding chairs were used after a past snowstorm to reserve a spot in the Bridgeport neighborhood.

You’ve been warned: Trash crews will start clearing streets of objects used as “dibs” for parking spots Tuesday.

Crews will pick up unclaimed items along their daily garbage collection routes with special attention given to address 311 complaints, the Department of Streets and Sanitation said Thursday.

“Dibs” is a controversial practice popular in Chicago in which motorists claim parking spots cleared of snow. The practice has led to confrontations between neighbors, including an Andersonville man who found his car window smashed with a “dibs” chair earlier in February.

A man on Saturday found his friend’s car window smashed by a chair he says was on the sidewalk, not being used to call “dibs” where the car was parked.

A whopping 34 inches of snow that fell on Chicago over the past three weeks started melting Sunday when the city finally exited a stretch of freezing temperatures.

Residents were encouraged to remove their chairs, cones and other objects so they won’t be thrown away.

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“Our crews have been working around the clock to address snow and ice and ensure Chicago’s streets are safe and passable for residents,” DSS Commissioner John Tully said in a statement. “At this time, we ask residents to be neighborly and help our crews clear streets of debris by picking up any items they may have on the street.”

Despite crews working extra hours, garbage collection remained delayed across the city due to the heavy snowfall over the last week, according to the department’s statement.

Residents can find their trash collection route at 311.chicago.gov.