Disabled parking sting is on

10 face stiff fines for ignoring rules

BY LEONARD N. FLEMING Chicago SunTimes

Ed: Disability Parking on PEI is a mix of cooperation and non-cooperation. What’s your experience been?
Warning: If you are at the shopping mall and try to get away with parking in a handicap space or illegally using a disability placard, you are risking a stiff fine.

Ten people found that out Friday morning at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg and at River Oaks Mall in Calumet City, when they were nabbed as part of an ongoing statewide sting operation aimed at curtailing those who take spaces away from the disabled.

“Our detail is designed to keep the spots opened for people who truly need them,” said Bill Bogdan, disability liaison for the Illinois secretary of state’s office.

Bogdan said police issued citations for various abuses, ranging from drivers not possessing a handicap placard to those who possess a disability placard or license plate but are unaccompanied by a disabled person in the vehicle.

At least one case was obvious to investigators Friday at the River Oaks Mall: a man using his grandmother’s parking placard pulled into a handicap space in a Ford F-350 pickup truck, a massive vehicle, Bogdan said.

The fine for parking in a handicap space can be as much as $350.

The penalty for displaying a placard or disability license plate without the person in the car is $500 and possible suspension of a driver’s license.

But unlike in past years, no one tried to use clout to get out of a ticket. Several protested, to no avail, Bogdan said.

Another good thing about having an increased police presence on the hunt for disabled parking scofflaws was that shoppers were able to alert police quickly to other crimes, including a stolen vehicle and wallet, Bogdan said.

More stings will be take place throughout the holiday season, the secretary of state’s office said.