The fees for "storing" my car in San Francisco's tow lot were over $850, but that doesn't matter much, because they insisted for weeks that it was stolen and gone, so I replaced it.
Sorry. Your story sucks, and I'm sorry that happened to your dad, but I'll take Chicago over San Francisco any day.
(in case it came out wrong, what "sucks" is what happened to his dad, not how he told the story).
I understood what you meant, Thomas. As I said, I wasn't making an argument either way in regard to SF vs. Chicago corruption. I've only visited SF a few times, so I have no basis for comparison. I just tend to marvel at how brazen and business-like Chicago corruption can be.
My Dad got three parking tickets from Chicago this year. For a truck that he hasn't owned in four years. My Dad hasn't been to Chicago in a few years. The truck had never even been to Illinois. Dad disputed the tickets instead of just paying them, because he could prove the truck was in Florida when the tickets were issued. [He owns a trucking company, so he keeps pretty meticulous records, including fuel receipts.] They graciously waived the fines after he spent a few hours arguing the matter and provided the documentation.
At first he thought the tickets were due to a computer error or something...there have been a few cases of people getting multi-million dollar parking tickets in Chicago in the last few years due to 'computer error.' He thought maybe someone just mistyped a VIN. But NOOOOOOO...it turned out to be a scam - run by a few elected gentleman - that have previously gotten into trouble for doing the same thing. They send bogus tickets to out-of-towners, especially commercial vehicles. They know that a certain percentage of people will just think "Well, I was in Chicago...?" and then pay the damn tickets without protest. Easy cash. That, my friends, is "Chicago's way." ;-)
This speaks to why my Dad refuses to come and visit me in Chicago. And why I get to hear him gripe anytime someone mentions Chicago, parking, traffic, cars, scams, etc. etc. I'm hoping a new grandkid will finally get him to visit again.