(A) Vehicles subject to impoundment. Any vehicle that is used in the commission of any offense set forth in Appendix A to this chapter shall be impounded and towed by a tow operator eligible to tow vehicles pursuant to this chapter to a place of safe storage. The registered owner of an impounded vehicle, the agents of such registered owner or the lessee of such shall be liable for the towing and storage fees therefor pursuant to this chapter, and shall further be liable to the village for the payment of an administrative fee as hereinafter set forth in this section. The administrative fee shall be used by the village to assist in defraying its costs as allowed by ILCS Ch. 625, Act 5, § 11-208.7. All such towing and storage fees and administrative fees shall be in addition to any fines or penalties imposed by any court in connection with the adjudication of the offense underlying the impoundment in question.
(B) Impoundment notice and hearing. Vehicles subject to impoundment may be impounded and towed without any prior notice or prior hearing. At the time of the towing and impoundment of an impounded vehicle, the village shall notify or make a reasonable attempt to notify the registered owner, the agent thereof, or the lessee of the impounded vehicle, any persons identifying themselves as the same, or any person found to be in control of the vehicle at the time of impoundment, of the fact of the impoundment and towing of the vehicle and of the right to an administrative hearing on the merits of the impoundment. Thereafter, the village shall provide notice to the registered owner of the vehicle, any lessee of the vehicle, and any lienholder of the vehicle that (1) the vehicle shall remain impounded pending the completion of an administrative hearing on the merits of the impoundment, unless the owner, lessee or lienholder shall post a bond with the village in the amount of the administrative fee established by this chapter and pay all applicable towing and storage fees due to the tow operator and (2) that the Village Code Hearing Department shall conduct a hearing on the merits of the impoundment of the vehicle, and stating the date, time and location of the administrative hearing. The notice required herein shall be served by the village on the parties entitled thereto by personal service, or by first class U.S. mail addressed to the registered owner, lessee and/or lienholder at their addresses as disclosed by the records of the Illinois Secretary of State within ten days of the date of the impoundment of the vehicle. Such notice shall be effective upon personal service or upon mailing. The hearing described in the notice shall be scheduled and convened within 45 days of the date of the impoundment of the vehicle. The administrative hearing on the merits of the impoundment shall be conducted in accordance with the applicable provisions of Chapter 42A of the Village Code of Ordinances.
(C) Release of impounded vehicles. Prior to the conduct of an administrative hearing, an impounded vehicle may be released upon the payment to the village of an administrative fee in the amount of $400, and payment to the tow operator of all applicable towing and storage fees. The village shall issue a receipt for the payment of said administrative fee, and such receipt shall be presented to the tow operator prior to and as a condition of the release of the vehicle in question. Alternatively, and prior to the conduct of an administrative hearing, an impounded vehicle may be released upon the posting with the village of a bond equal to the amount of the applicable administrative fee, and payment to the tow operator of applicable towing and storage fees. The village shall issue a receipt evidencing the posting of such bond, and such receipt shall be presented to the tow operator prior to and as a condition of the release of the vehicle in question. In cases where the vehicle is to be released to a person asserting a legal right to possess the vehicle other than the owner of the vehicle, such person shall also present an indemnification of the village from any claims of the owner of the vehicle for claims relating to the release thereof. Subsequent to the conduct of an administrative hearing culminating in a determination upholding an impoundment, the impounded vehicle shall only be released upon payment of the administrative fee to the village and upon payment of all applicable towing and storage fees due to the tow operator. The village shall issue a receipt for the payment of said administrative fee, and such receipt shall be presented to the tow operator prior to and as a condition of the release of the vehicle in question. Subsequent to the conduct of an administrative hearing culminating in a determination overruling an impoundment, the village shall cause the release of the impounded vehicle without payment of the administrative fee, and shall pay or reimburse the applicable storage fees; in the event that the impounded vehicle had been released prior to an administrative hearing culminating in a determination overruling an impoundment the village shall reimburse the amount of the administrative fee paid, release any posted bond, and reimburse the amount of all storage fees paid.
(D) Disposition of unreleased vehicles. In the event that the owner, lessee or lienholder of an impounded vehicle shall not retrieve an impounded vehicle from a storage facility within 35 days after the Hearing Officer issues a written determination in an administrative hearing conducted on the merits of the impoundment of the vehicle, the vehicle in question shall be deemed to have been abandoned, and shall thereafter be disposed of in accordance with Article II of Chapter 4 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.
(E) Administrative fees, fines and penalties—expiration of time for administrative review. Unless stayed by a court of competent jurisdiction, any fine, penalty or administrative fee imposed under this chapter which remains unpaid in whole or in part after the expiration for seeking judicial review under the administrative review law may be enforced in the same manner as a judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction, as provided in Chapter 42A of the Village Code of Ordinances.
(F) Waiver of administrative fee. The administrative fee imposed by this chapter shall be waived by the village in any case where the village is provided with verifiable proof that the vehicle was stolen at the time it was impounded.
(G) Waiver of impoundment. The sworn officer in charge of the arrest for the offense underlying an impoundment may waive the impoundment of a vehicle only when in his or her reasonable judgment the impoundment would interfere with the provision of police services, adversely affect public safety and the vehicle in question is then lawfully parked, or will be driven from the scene of the arrest by a licensed driver upon the effectively given consent of the lawful owner of the vehicle.
(Ord. 17-1383, passed 6-21-17)