Grounds for contesting a violation.
Municipal Code of Chicago § 9-100-060
in effect9-100-060 Grounds for contesting a violation.
(a) A person charged with a parking, standing or compliance violation may contest the charge through an administrative adjudication limited to one or more of the following grounds with appropriate evidence to support:
(1) that the respondent was not the owner or lessee of the cited vehicle at the time of the violation;
(2) that the cited vehicle or its state registration plates were stolen at the time the violation occurred;
(3) that the relevant signs prohibiting or restricting parking or standing were missing or obscured;
(4) that the relevant parking meter was inoperable or malfunctioned through no fault of the respondent;
(5) that the facts alleged in the violation notice are inconsistent or do not support a finding that the specified regulation was violated;
(6) that the illegal condition described in the compliance violation notice did not exist at the time the notice was issued;
(7) that the compliance violation has been corrected prior to adjudication of the charge; provided, however, that this defense shall not be applicable to:
(i) except as otherwise provided in Section 9-64-125, compliance violations involving display of the city wheel tax license emblem under Section 9-64-125;
(ii) compliance violations involving motor vehicle exhaust systems under subsection (a)(2) of Section 9-76-140;
(iii) compliance violations involving registration plates under subsection (a) of Section 9-76-160;
(iv) compliance violations involving display of registration plates, temporary registration or temporary permits under subsection (b) of Section 9-76-160, except to the extent that 625 ILCS 5/3-821.2(b) or subsection (e) of Section 9-76-160 provides for an affirmative defense;
(v) compliance violations relating to glass coverings or coating under Section 9-76-220; or
(vi) compliance violations involving the use of a mobile, cellular, analog wireless or digital telephone while driving a motor vehicle under Section 9-76-230.
(b) A person charged with violating Section 9-101-020 or Section 9-102-020 may contest the charge through an administrative adjudication limited to one or more of the following applicable grounds with appropriate evidence to support:
(1) for violations of Section 9-101-020 that:
(i) the operator of the vehicle was issued a Uniform Traffic Citation for a speeding violation occurring within one-eighth of a mile and 15 minutes of the violation that was recorded by the system;
(ii) the facts alleged in the violation notice are inconsistent or do not support a finding that Section 9-12-070, 9-12-075, 9-12-077 or 9-101-020 was violated;
(2) for violations of Section 9-102-020 that:
(i) the operator of the vehicle was issued a Uniform Traffic Citation for a violation of Section 9-8-020(c);
(ii) the operator of the vehicle passed through the intersection when the light was red either to yield the right-of-way to an emergency vehicle or as part of a funeral procession; or
(iii) the facts alleged in the violation notice are inconsistent or do not support a finding that Section 9-8-020(c) was violated.
(3) the violation occurred at any time during which the vehicle or its state registration plates were reported to a law enforcement agency as having been stolen and the vehicle or its plates had not been recovered by the owner at the time of the alleged violation;
(4) the vehicle was leased to another and the lessor has provided the name and address of the lessee in compliance with Section 9-100-140(c);
(5) the vehicle was an authorized emergency vehicle; or
(6) the respondent was not the registered owner or lessee of the cited vehicle at the time of the violation.
(c) Where the lessor complies with subsection (b)(4), the lessee of the vehicle at the time of the violation shall be deemed to be the owner of the leased vehicle for purpose of this chapter. The department of finance, within 30 days of being notified by the lessor of the name and address of the lessee, shall mail the lessee a citation which contains the information required under Section 9-100-045; provided that service of the violation notice shall not occur more than 210 days after the violation.
(Prior code § 27.1-6; Added Coun. J. 3-21-90, p. 13561; Amend Coun. J. 7-12-90, p. 18634; Amend Coun. J. 3-26-96, p. 19161, effective 1-1-97; Amend Coun. J. 2-7-97, p. 38959; Amend Coun. J. 11-19-97, p. 57861; Amend Coun. J. 12-12-07, p. 16793, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 11-5-08, p. 43707, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 1-13-09, p. 52803, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-17-10, p. 107294, Art, I, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 4-18-12, p. 23762, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 5-6-15, p. 108500, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 10-28-15, p. 11951, Art. I, § 8; Amend Coun. J. 11-9-16, p. 36313, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-21-17, p. 61913, § 10; Amend Coun. J. 9-18-19, p. 4521, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 10-27-21, p. 40504, Art. I, § 4)
Source: City of Chicago, Municipal Code of Chicago (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2647579Fetched: 10/24/2026