Lincoln Towing Service may be off the hook for years of alleged towing violations after a Cook County judge Wednesday reversed the state’s decision revoking its license.
In his ruling, Cook County Circuit Judge Neil Cohen said the Illinois Commerce Commission “violated fundamental fairness and … due process rights” by failing to advise Lincoln Towing that it could lose its license as a result of the hearing process.
“We prevailed and we’re happy that the judge made the correct ruling,” Allen Perl, an attorney representing Lincoln, said Wednesday. “All we want to do is continue to relocate vehicles within the laws of the Illinois Commerce Commission.”
The ICC voted unanimously in September 2018 to revoke Lincoln Towing’s license in the wake of a 2016 investigation that found 831 alleged violations over an eight-month period. It ordered Lincoln to immediately cease towing operations and park its fleet of trucks.
Lincoln was granted a temporary restraining order that allowed it to still tow vehicles while appealing the ICC’s ruling in Cook County Circuit Court. The firm was required to put up a $100,000 bond and file daily towing logs with the Illinois attorney general’s office, which represented the ICC in the case.
At the time, Cohen put Lincoln Towing on a short leash, threatening to pull the towing firm’s license if there were any transgressions during the interim.
“There weren’t any transgressions,” Perl said Wednesday. “The case is over now.”
The judge’s order is final, but the ICC has the right to appeal.
“We are disappointed in the ruling and are exploring all of our options with our legal counsel,” ICC spokeswoman Victoria Crawford said in an emailed statement Wednesday.
Dubbed the “Lincoln Park Pirates” in a popular 1972 song by Chicago folk singer Steve Goodman, Lincoln is the largest relocation towing service in the state.
The infamous towing service has prowled Chicago’s parking lots for nearly 60 years, finding itself at the center of lawsuits, consumer horror stories and political pressure throughout its history. Last spring, it splashed its once-obscure corporate name, Protective Parking Service, on the sign at its Chicago headquarters, fueling rumors that Lincoln Towing was rebranding.
Perl said Wednesday the towing firm’s name remains the same, as does its mission.
“If you park your vehicle illegally on private property, we tow it,” Perl said. “That’s what we’re supposed to do.”
