City Council committee discusses way to rein in rogue towing

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Imagine that you’ve just been in a car crash and even before an ambulance shows up, a tow truck pulls up and offers to take your car away.

This happens all the time on Chicago streets. On Tuesday, members of a City Council committee took a closer look at how they prey on vulnerable people.

The Committee on Public Safety met with several agency leaders to discuss new ways to rein in rogue tow truck companies operating in Chicago that use scanners to show up to crash scenes and take advantage of distressed drivers.

Chicago Police Department Deputy Chief Daniel O'Connor says they are working to crack down on two truck drivers.

“They’re highly regulated. They're required to have certain things on them, you know, brooms, the sand buckets, like whatever they can,” O’Connor said.

“And if we've identified any sort of rogue actors, you know, we do try to take enforcement action.”

Cole Stallard, Commissioner of Streets and Sanitation tells aldermen the last thing people should be worried about in such intense situations is being ripped off.

“We're fully committed to doing anything we can to stop this nonsense that's going on. And know that you have our full support and we're gonna continue to work with the police,” Stallard said.

The committee passed the resolution and hopes the full City Council will move forward with discussing a new ordinance addressing the problem.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: Getty Images

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