Illinois Appeals Court Rules Chicago Slapped Drivers With Illegally High Fines for Years
A plaintiff in the class-action lawsuit says he had to declare bankruptcy after Chicago dumped $20,000 of ticket debts on him.
A plaintiff in the class-action lawsuit says he had to declare bankruptcy after Chicago dumped $20,000 of ticket debts on him.
The city's army of 160 speed cameras issued a ticket every 11 seconds during 2021 and generated $89 million in revenue.
Last week, Chief Mike Jones defended his campaign of fining everybody in sight. This week, he resigned.
Brookside officers have been accused of fabricating violations and are being sued.
Since lacking licenses can lead to lacking the ability to work (and pay fines), offenses like parking tickets or failing to come to a complete halt at stop signs can upend lives unjustly.
A homeless man’s truck was impounded in Seattle and he couldn’t afford the costs to get it back. That’s unconstitutional, justices rule.
So the Washington Supreme Court holds in a case involving a man who was living in his truck, and who had to pay the money when his truck was impounded for being parked too long in one place.
Sandy Martinez is challenging the exorbitant penalty for driveway cracks, a storm-damaged fence, and cars parked in an "unapproved" manner on her own property.
Sandy Martinez says that fine, along with another $63,500 for driveway cracks and a downed fence, violates Florida's constitution.
When fabulous clothes are outlawed, only outlaws will be fabulous.
Police in the Miami-area have been proactively issuing $100 fines to people not wearing masks outside.
A 2018 Reason investigation showed how Chicago's impound program ensnared innocent owners, stripped them of their cars, and soaked them in debt.
If there's one thing at which governments have excelled during this crisis, it's been collecting fines from anybody who steps out of line.
Reason showed how Chicago's impound program traps innocent owners in thousands of dollars of debt in 2018.
A law passed by Florida Republicans to limit a constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to felony offenders violates the 14th and 24th Amendments, the judge ruled.
County offices and courts are closed for COVID-19, but the jails are full.
It seems unlikely that most Americans who owe fines for petty crimes will be in a better position to pay them in 60 to 90 days.
"Equally guilty but wealthier felons are offered access to the ballot while these plaintiffs continue to be disenfranchised, perhaps forever."
"As a matter of public policy, this system is clearly broken," says Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza.
"Taxation by citation" harms the harmless and destroys trust in civic institutions.
Miami Beach's crackdown on Airbnb is "in jarring conflict" with a state law capping municipal fines at $1,000 per day, Judge Michael Hanzman ruled.
Allie Nelson is the latest plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging Chicago's vehicle impound racket, which seizes cars from the innocent and guilty alike.
Fines continued to pile up for almost a decade.
Two federal court rulings cite a significant conflict of interest.
Governing puts together a database of cities and towns addicted to money from fines and forfeitures.
His death resulted from a violent confrontation that never should have happened.
A global culinary capital considers surrendering to the nanny state.
"I don't think that I deserve to pay $80 for something that is fixable — and I can fix it, if that's all you want me to do."
The new law eliminates a loophole that allowed police to continue arresting people for something that was not supposed to be a crime anymore.
And will the end result encourage companies to try to keep cybersecurity breaches secret?
New Orleans can't use zoning regulations to decide what counts as artistic expression.
If governments can oppress, they usually will.
Florida man may lose home because he didn’t cut his grass.
Cannabidiol products are legal for sale and consumption, but adding it to other things is somehow forbidden.
The lawsuit is the second filed this year challenging Chicago's punitive and corrupt towing program.
A Pennsylvania mom faces reckless endangerment charges for assuming her children—ages 2, 5, and 7—could survive a very short wait.
New York's parking regulations make numerous traffic tickets just another cost of doing business for the city's food trucks.
Restaurateurs get protection from small competitors. It’s the citizens who lose out on delicious food choices.
The oft-abused tool is used more to raise revenue than to protect public safety.
Plus: An old drug warrior learns new tricks, Taiwan legalizes same-sex marriage, and more...
Institute for Justice sues Dunedin, Fla., over the $29,000 in fines imposed without due process over Jim Ficken's unmowed lawn.