Dan Hunt, who operates Anchor Towing, has opposed the imposition of Illinois Commerce Commission regulation on McHenry County towing operations since its proposal by McHenry County Board member Nick Provenzano.
Researching the implications of the county board’s action, Hunt concluded that there were unintended consequences.
One is that people will have to stay with their vehicles until they sign a statement from the towing company saying they have been informed of what the cost will be and other items of consumer interest…even in the worst of weather and the most extreme of consequences.
Last night Hunt and others spoke in the public comment time. Here is what Hunt had to say:
Statement by Dan Hunt, Anchor Towing
When you passed your towing law, you created some problems for your constituents, some unintended consequences, if you will.
All of your attention was focused on the few towing companies gouging county residents when they removed vehicles that were trespassing on people’s properties. This is a legitimate concern. People should not have to pay thousands of dollars to get their cars back.
What you didn’t know was passage of the resolution would also affect people whose cars needed towing in emergencies. This is called “safety towing.”
To the best of my knowledge, there have no abuses by tow companies offering this type of roadside service.
In the rules required by your ordinance, people with car trouble will have to stay with their vehicles until the tow truck arrives…regardless of weather or other extenuating circumstance(s).
That’s because the state law your county board action invoked requires the customer to sign a consumer notification form and must provide adequate identification, drivers license or social security card, before their vehicle can be towed.
I doubt any of you knew about this implication when you voted for the resolution.
I understand that Senator Althoff is planning to try to amend the law so you can have regulation on what is called relocation towing, but leave safety towing alone.
It is unlikely this will occur before October 15th, when all McHenry County towing companies must have filed and paid the licensing fees that your ordinance requires.
Because of the incomplete knowledge of what you were doing by voting for your ordinance, I ask that you repeal it until you are authorized to do by state law what you really want to do.
If you do not do this, Governor Blagojevich’s budget will get large sums of money from a number of McHenry county companies which will never be returned and completely unnecessary once Sen. Althoff gets the law amended.
Please act in the best interest of your constituents, which, in this case, also happens to be in the best interest of the honest tow companies in McHenry County.
Other articles on the topic:
To Regulate and Allow Rod Blagojevich To Tax or Not
Nick Provenzano Makes Case for Towing Relocation Regs