Victims of domestic violence, ID theft could get a break on city debt

Four months ago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel was urged to go easier on parking and vehicle ticket scofflaws after a new report showed the city’s get-tough enforcement policies were having a disproportionate impact on low-income and minority communities.

On Wednesday, the chairman of the City Council’s Hispanic Caucus got tired of waiting and took matters into his own hands.

Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) introduced an ordinance that would exempt victims of domestic violence, identity theft and other hardships from vehicle impoundment and collection costs that are tacked on to city debt — including for parking tickets and city sticker violations.

Related: City urged to go easy on scofflaws after study shows minorities bear brunt

The driving force behind the ordinance was POWER-PAC Illinois, a group comprised of low-income black and Hispanic mothers and grandmothers.

The group is lead by Rosalva Nava, who claims that her abusive and now ex-husband stole her license plates, then proceeded to rack up $6,000 in fines and fees.

Nava says she managed to scrape together $500 needed to get on a payment plan. But, City Hall demanded more. That allowed the fines and fees to continue to pile up — to the point where the single mother of four was stuck in a death spiral of debt.

Villegas said he’s tired of hearing those sad stories — it’s time for the city to have a heart.

The ordinance he introduced at Wednesday’s City Council meeting would cut in half the fees imposed on impounded vehicles belonging to “survivors of domestic violence, victims of identity theft and qualifying hardships.”

It also states that the Department of Streets and Sanitation, which operates city auto pounds, “must allow vehicle owners access to their impounded vehicle.”

“What I’m trying to do is make sure we’re not putting families in positions where they’re having to file bankruptcy to pay for tickets or not even pay for the tickets because they already have filed for bankruptcy,” Villegas said.

“We have situations where vehicles have been impounded. They’ve accumulated storage fees. Then, the towing company sells these vehicles and the family is stuck without a vehicle and they still owe the money. We have to be a lot more compassionate.”

Villegas is not the first Chicago politician to propose cutting scofflaws some slack.

Last week, City Clerk Anna Valencia said Chicago would create a four-month city sticker, restore a 15-day grace period, offer a month-long amnesty and re-examine “exorbitant” penalties to ease the burden on 500,000 delinquent motorists.

The proposed, four-month city sticker was included in the annual revenue ordinance introduced by Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday as part of his 2019 budget.

Valencia has been under fire for presiding over an overly-punitive city sticker enforcement system that has driven thousands of motorists into bankruptcy, many of them African-American.