Predatory “wreck chaser” tow trucks target Chicago drivers. Now, the City Council is chasing them in return.
Aldermen in the License Committee unanimously advanced a measure Tuesday giving drivers new rights to sue rule-breaking tow truck operators.
If it passes in the full City Council next Wednesday, the ordinance could also give predatory towers a taste of their own medicine: It would allow police to seize the tow trucks themselves.
Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, said Chicago has become one of the worst cities in the country for predatory towing.
“Unfortunately, this year we are number one. This is an industry that we have got to finally get our hands around,” he told the committee. “We are putting some teeth behind this to make sure we can finally address this issue.”
The Belmont Cragin alderman led a successful push in 2021 for a first wave of rules targeting criminal gangs that operate tow companies and tow truck drivers who scam accident victims with aggressive schemes.
That legislation required tow trucks to get city licenses and prohibited them from pulling up to crash scenes to solicit business.
Villegas pushed for the original measure after the dangerous speeding and red-light running of raptorial towers ended in a nearly catastrophic crash in his ward that saw a bus that had been hit by a tow truck plow through a storefront. A constituent “bilked for thousands of dollars from a rogue towing company” also inspired the legislation, he said.
The updated ordinance was sparked by feedback in part from insurance companies, car rentals and tow truck organizations, he said. This may not be his final crack at getting the situation under control. Villegas said.
“And there may be a 3.0, the bad actors keep finding ways to skirt the rules,” he said.
An earlier version of the ordinance included a requirement that towing companies clearly post fees. Villegas said he removed the requirement at the request of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration in the substitute that advanced Tuesday.
The proposed ordinance encourages tow truck companies to accept various forms of payment and requires them to have an ATM available if they only accept cash. It also bans tow truck operators from giving rewards for information that leads them to vehicles needing a tow.
Additionally, the measure would require towing companies to get a signature before repairing vehicles and give drivers the right to retrieve personal belongings from inside towed cars, even when they cannot pay to get them off the lot. Tow lots would further be required to release paid-for vehicles during their on-file hours and not be allowed to condition releases on drivers paying for additional services.
And if towing companies keep breaking the rules, they could face a tow from the city or civil action from drivers under the proposed change.
“There has to be some consequences,” Villegas said.
