The city of Chicago sent a woman from central Illinois two pieces of mail that were difficult to understand, indicating that she was likely to be responsible for paying hundreds of dollars. It was discovered that the driver had been subjected to a clerical error that has been occurring for many years.
According to Aly Marsh, who lives in Washington, Illinois, close to Peoria, she received two letters on the same day, one of which was sent through certified mail, informing her that her vehicle had been impounded; however, there was a significant issue with that. This was not her vehicle.
It would appear that a system that was designed to maximize efficiency is currently operating on antiquated fuel, and she is not the only one who is being impacted by this.
Marsh, who lives approximately 150 miles away from the city, was under the impression that two letters from the city’s Streets and Sanitation Department might be connected to a recent trip to Chicago by car.
“I’m like, ‘Oh, I got red light tickets,’ or like some, you know, we all, like, expect that at some point,” she explained to me.
On the other hand, she discovered that her vehicle had been impounded and that she was being charged $25 per day for storage, which was something that she found immediately incomprehensible.
“I’m so excited that I’m in my car. On that particular date, I was not in Chicago. “I could not possibly own a Ford,” she stated.
It was a Saturday when she received the letters. Despite the fact that she was unable to contact Chicago City Hall until Monday, she was concerned that she might be held responsible for an undetermined amount of money. However, when she did call, Marsh stated, “They said, ‘If that’s not your car, get rid of the letter.” Every single day, we receive dozens of calls like this.'”
According to that employee of the Streets and Sanitation department, the letters were caused by the department’s own system.
“He stated, ‘It’s just like it’s full of errors.'” Okay, that’s fine,” Marsh said.
The letter that Marsh received from the city was not the first one to arrive in such a perplexing manner.
In the month of March 2022, Jay Hencken, who resided in DeKalb County and was located sixty miles away from Chicago, received twelve notices in a single week informing him that a vehicle that he had not owned for more than ten years had been impounded. It has been confirmed by the office of the Secretary of State in Illinois that the automobile was not registered to Hencken but rather to a resident of Chicago. In spite of the fact that Hencken had sold that automobile to his insurance company more than a decade earlier, having suffered severe storm damage, the city’s notices continued to be sent to him.
In the case of Hencken, the city stated that the new owner of the vehicle applied for a temporary license plate but never fully transferred the vehicle to his own name.
In the case of Marsh, a spokesperson for the city stated that the letter was intended for a former resident who originally resided at Marsh’s address.
“In this instance, two registered owners had a combined total of five addresses on file,” the department stated in its statement. “The Department sends letters to all addresses to ensure we are contacting the person(s) who are eligible to redeem the vehicle.”
They specifically requested that “all residents keep their information current to ensure all government notices are going to their preferred addresses.”
Asked the office of the Illinois Secretary of State if they had any additional information about the reason why Marsh’s address was linked to this car, as well as if they were aware of the number of additional addresses that might be included in this system that are no longer valid. As far as they are concerned, they are working to obtain answers.
Because letters were sent to five different addresses in this instance, it is possible that there are additional people who experienced the same moment of confusion and concern.
Officials from the city government have confirmed that the vehicle that was impounded in the case of Marsh has been retrieved by its owner.
