Chicago Dibs: The Unwritten Rules of Parking Chair Season

Every winter, Chicago transforms into a battlefield of folding chairs, traffic cones, and ironing boards marking shoveled-out parking spots. The tradition is called "dibs," and it is one of the most uniquely Chicago things in existence. It is also, technically, illegal.

What the law says

Chicago Municipal Code Section 10-28-070 prohibits placing objects on the public way to reserve parking spaces. Violation is a fine of $50 to $250 per day. The city can remove the objects without notice. On paper, dibs is straightforward illegal.

What actually happens

Enforcement is complaint-driven. The city removes dibs markers through 311 requests, but response times vary. In heavy snow years, the city collects over 2,000 dibs removal requests. In practice, aldermen set the tone for their wards. Some actively discourage dibs. Others tacitly allow it for 48 hours after a major snowfall. There is no official 48-hour grace period in the code, but it has become a widely cited informal standard.

The cultural dimension

Dibs has been part of Chicago winters since at least the 1967 blizzard. The logic is labor-based: if you spent an hour shoveling out two feet of snow, you have a moral claim to that spot. The counter-argument is that public streets are public property and cannot be privately reserved. Both positions are held with religious conviction.

When dibs goes wrong

The dark side of dibs makes the news every few years. Keyed cars, slashed tires, broken windows, and confrontations have all been documented when someone takes a "claimed" spot. The city explicitly does not endorse this behavior and will prosecute property damage regardless of the dibs dispute.

The practical advice

If you live in Chicago and it snows heavily: shovel your car out, put your chair down if your neighbors do, remove it within 48 hours, and do not escalate if someone takes the spot. If you are the person taking a dibsed spot, understand the cultural risk. The law is on your side. Your neighbors might not be.