In what might be described as a modern day debtor’s prison, Chicago is the only major city in the United States that strips gig-workers, small-business owners, and ride-share drivers’ business licenses, for their unpaid ticket debts.
Sec. 54-391 of the Cook County Code of Ordinances gives the city the right to revoke business licenses if issued tickets are unpaid.
Aldermen and city leaders must change this law and end this unjust and regressive policy of stripping hard-working Chicagoans of their right and means to make ends meet.
As part of a series of reports and interviews highlighting this regressive policy, we found that many believe that enforcement and fines related to ticketing, which includes red light, parking, speeding, and other offenses, unfairly targets certain lower-income communities and neighborhoods more than others. This issue was previously highlighted by ProPublica Illinois through their investigative reports in 2018, but has yet to be adequately addressed by city officials.
The policy has had a devastating impact on gig-workers who are unable to keep up with the city's aggressive ticketing policies while supporting themselves and their families. Many drivers have turned to Chapter 13 bankruptcy as a temporary reprieve, with the average debt to the city of Chicago being around $3,900 as of 2021. This number has increased dramatically from 2007 when there were approximately 1,000 Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings for unpaid tickets, with the average debt being $1,500. In the intervening years, the city of Chicago increased the cost of ticket fines, the number of license suspensions, and expanded its traffic camera program.
The gig-workers and drivers we have spoken with have echoed their frustrations with this policy in our pages.
“How do you expect me to pay my debt, my parking tickets, if you take away my ability to make money?”
“And now here I am, I can't work because, like I say, they deactivate you because of parking or any type of city debt.”
“So yes, it seems nearly impossible and seems like bankruptcy is the only way out and I'm trying to avoid it.”
Not only is the city’s policy economically regressive, but it could be considered racially regressive as well. The burden of Chicago's ticket debt falls disproportionately on the city's low-income, primarily Black neighborhoods. According to a ProPublica analysis of ticket data in Illinois since 2007 and figures from the U.S. Census, eight of the ten ZIP codes with the most accumulated ticket debt per adult are majority Black. The city's traffic camera program, which generates tens of millions of dollars for City Hall, has had a particularly significant impact on motorists from Black and Latino neighborhoods. A ProPublica analysis of millions of citations found that between 2015 and 2019, households in majority Black and Hispanic ZIP codes received tickets at around twice the rate of those in white areas.
This makes the policy of revoking business licenses for unpaid tickets a matter of racial equity. As Reverend Tyrone McGowan explained to this publication:
"This is a regressive city policy that targets black and brown communities, keeping them in a cycle of generational debt. It primarily affects low-income Black households. Eight out of the 10 ZIP codes with the most ticket debt are Black ZIP codes. So many people who are already struggling financially, sink even further into debt as a result of this policy. Many go into bankruptcy, which is not an ideal solution, over something as simple as an unpaid ticket.
"Historically, the City of Chicago has built its economy and attempted to balance its budget off of criminalizing Black and Brown bodies. This ticket policy is just another way the City is oppressing communities of color.”
In a city where many people rely on public transit and ride-share services to get around, gig-workers have the potential to make a great living. However, that potential is significantly diminished by Chicago's aggressive ticketing laws. The city's policy required Uber and Lyft to suspend more than 15,500 drivers during 2019 alone, with Chicago asking the state to suspend licenses of more than 21,000 drivers in 2016—triple the number from 2010, according to the city's finance department.
McGowan’s comments further clarify this point as well:
"The fact that Chicago is the only major U.S. city with this policy is truly unacceptable. We are failing so many families and communities with this regressive policy. It is preventing everyday, honest, hard-working Chicagoans from making a decent living.”
“As a result of the fines, many citizens cannot obtain business licenses with the city. They cannot be barbers or beauticians. They are not allowed to participate in the ever-expanding ride-share economy and they cannot run for elected office to help try to change regressive policies such as this. The city wants the fines paid, but will not allow citizens to make an honest living to pay the fines. It makes absolutely no sense."
Chicago's policy of stripping business owners of their licenses over unpaid tickets is not only unjust but also has a disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities.
First of all, the policy of stripping someone of their right to work must end. Then the City should explore alternative methods to encourage people to pay their fines, such as a graduated fee structure (as recently suggested by Alderman Vasquez) or community service.
We urge the city of Chicago to act now to create a fair and equitable system that does not unfairly penalize small business owners and gig-workers by taking away their license to work.