Committee on License and Consumer Protection meeting, April 8, 2025
- When: Tue, Apr 8, 2025, 10:30 AM (Chicago time)
- Where: Room 201A, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
- Status: Scheduled & Published
- Committee: Committee on License and Consumer Protection
- Video: https://vimeo.com/showcase/8928556/video/1073306800
- Transcript: full text (6,826 words, automatic captions)
Meeting notes
AI-written from the transcript. Speakers are inferred from cues in the recording, so treat names as estimates and check the video at the linked time.
The Committee on License and Consumer Protection, chaired by Alderman Debra L. Silverstein, heard two public commenters and approved its March 2025 Rule 45 reports. Alderman Gilbert Villegas presented a substitute ordinance amending the vehicular towing chapter, which he called Rogue Towing 2.0. It lets police impound tow trucks used in unlicensed towing, creates a private right of action for victims, and sets payment requirements for tow companies. Insurance and rental car industry representatives testified in support, and members described problem tow operators in their wards. The committee recommended passage of the towing ordinance, a BYOB prohibition on part of Division Street in the 1st Ward, a ban on cannabinoid hemp product sales in the Lake Calumet area, a peddling restriction in the 15th Ward, a package goods moratorium lift in the 27th Ward, and a correction to a package goods moratorium on Devon Avenue in the 50th Ward. One item sponsored by Alderman Jeanette B. Taylor was held because no one from her office was present.
Topics: rogue towing, towing enforcement, BYOB moratorium, hemp product sales, peddling restrictions, liquor moratoriums, public comment
Agenda items discussed
- 8:53 Public comment: discussed
- 16:03 Rule 45 reports for March 2025: passed
- 16:26 Substitute ordinance amending Chapter 4-227 regarding vehicular towing fees, penalties and obligations: passed
- 47:04 Ordinance amending Section 4-58-030 to prohibit BYOB on a portion of Division Street in the 1st Ward (O2025-0015576): passed
- 49:25 Substitute ordinance amending Chapter 4-4 prohibiting sale of cannabinoid hemp products in the Lake Calumet area: passed
- 51:50 Ordinance amending Section 4-244-140 prohibiting peddling in portions of the 15th Ward (O2025-0015853): passed
- 53:08 Ordinance sponsored by Alderman Jeanette B. Taylor (held, no sponsor representative present) (O2025-0015979): held
- 53:08 Ordinance lifting a package goods moratorium to allow a food store to sell wine (27th Ward) (O2025-0016041): passed
- 54:17 Ordinance correcting Subsection 4-60-023 to allow additional package goods licenses on a portion of Devon Avenue (50th Ward) (O2025-0015972): passed
Alderpersons who spoke
- Debra L. Silverstein (chair): Thanked Villegas for the towing ordinance and agreed a further version will likely be needed. (46:29); Explained that her Devon Avenue ordinance corrects an earlier one by lifting the moratorium on Devon and reinstating it on Kedzie. (54:37)
- Gilbert Villegas (alderperson): Introduced the substitute towing ordinance negotiated with BACP and CPD, saying state and federal rules limit local regulation of the industry. (17:27); Said the ordinance expands licensing, requires an on-site ATM for cash-only tow companies, lets CPD impound offending tow trucks, and adds a private right of action. (20:01); Responded to Mitts that BACP should check unlicensed lots and that the state and federal governments also need to act on rogue towing. (39:07)
- William Conway (alderperson): Thanked Villegas and the witnesses for an ordinance to crack down on a long-standing towing problem. (31:40)
- Felix Cardona Jr. (alderperson): Asked whether BACP can identify tow companies that close and reopen under new names to avoid fines. (32:07); Thanked Villegas and said residents describe being pressured to pay excessive amounts to recover towed cars. (34:13); Asked which blocks of Division Street the BYOB prohibition covers. (49:02)
- Emma Mitts (alderperson): Described a tow operator in her ward that held 20 to 30 cars behind a fenced lot for months and asked how to close the loophole that kept police from recovering them. (34:54); Noted that residents in her ward were grandfathered into a planned manufacturing district where tow lots operate. (45:34)
- Nicholas Sposato (alderperson): Described dangerous driving and fights by tow truck drivers from his experience and said he fully supports the ordinance. (42:04); Asked who bears the cost when a rented car is towed by a rogue tower. (42:57)
- David H. Moore (alderperson): Supported the ordinance and asked whether zoning or licensing could keep tow companies out of residential areas. (43:59)
- Daniel La Spata (alderperson): Said the BYOB moratorium on Division Street, the first in the city, responds to public safety concerns tied to businesses abusing BYOB rules. (47:33)
- Anthony Beale (alderperson): Said hemp product stores are unregulated and used by children, expanded the ban with Alderman Peter Chico to the Lake Calumet area, and urged a statewide ban. (50:04)
- Raymond A. Lopez (alderperson): Said the peddling restriction protects nearly 500 businesses from competition by vendors without storefronts. (52:21)
- Walter R. Burnett (alderperson): Said the moratorium lift for a food store to sell wine had community association and police support. (53:41)
Exchanges between members
- 31:40 Conway thanked Villegas for bringing the towing ordinance forward.
- 32:07 Cardona asked Villegas whether BACP can track tow companies that reopen under new names.
- 34:13 Cardona thanked Villegas for the ordinance.
- 39:07 Villegas thanked Mitts for earlier work on the issue and answered her question about enforcement gaps.
- 43:59 Moore thanked Villegas and offered to work with him on keeping tow companies out of residential areas.
- 44:52 Villegas responded to Moore that BACP would follow up on his question.
- 45:34 Mitts offered Moore a point of information about tow lots in a planned manufacturing district.
- 46:01 Moore replied to Mitts that tow operators in his ward are in residential areas.
- 46:29 Silverstein thanked Villegas for the towing ordinance.
- 49:02 Cardona asked La Spata which blocks of Division Street were covered.
- 50:04 Beale thanked the chair for her leadership on the hemp ordinance.