NEWS FLASH
CHICAGO (CHICAGO URBAN DAILY)— Chicago sold a man’s car over $524.60 in parking tickets — and left the debt on his books too. Now the Supreme Court has declined to step in, but two justices from opposite ends of the bench are sounding the alarm.
On Oct. 19, the Supreme Court declined to hear O’Donnell v. City of Chicago — the case of Ryan O’Donnell, whose Toyota the city sold after he failed to pay $524.60 in parking tickets, without clearing his debt or giving him any of the proceeds. The city also seized Michael Goree’s Chevrolet because a co-signer of his car loan owed ticket debt on a different car.
Lower courts ruled against the two men, who filed a class-action suit. The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the city’s rules serve a punitive purpose — a legitimate extension of police enforcement power.
But Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, wrote that she has “serious concerns” about that conclusion. The unusual alliance — the court’s liberal firebrand and its staunchest conservative — signals this Takings Clause fight is far from over. Sotomayor agreed the court shouldn’t take the case now, before more lower courts weigh in, but added: “I again encourage courts considering this issue to take care that due deference to state police powers does not eclipse constitutional rights.”
The men’s lawyers argue the 7th Circuit’s ruling clashes with the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Tyler v. Hennepin County: if a house is sold to pay off tax debt, the government can’t keep the surplus.
Under Chicago’s law, the city can seize any vehicle from an owner with three unpaid tickets — or two in one year. If the owner can’t pay the tickets plus the cost of towing and storing the car, the city sells it.
Stay tuned to Chicago Urban Daily as the constitutional fight continues.
Reported by Chicago Urban Daily News. Visit chicagourbandailynews.com for updates.
