Elgin, IL Parking Rules: Snow Removal Parking Rules (2026)

090 gives the director of public works, or the chief of police in the director's absence, authority to designate snow emergency routes by ordinance, mark them with signs, and maintain a written schedule of which streets carry the designation. The parking ban itself is automatic and triggered by weather rather than a separate declaration: once two or more inches of snow has fallen, it becomes unlawful to park any vehicle on a designated snow emergency route for the following twenty-four hours, giving plow crews a full day-and-night window to clear those routes without cars in the way.

The public works department is directed to post signs on every block of a snow emergency route giving notice of that prohibition and warning that violating vehicles may be removed. The code goes further than a simple ticket: any vehicle parked on a snow emergency route during the 24-hour window is declared a nuisance and a hazard to public safety, and any police officer is authorized to have it towed to a public garage or other storage facility at the owner's expense, without needing a separate court order first.

The fine for violating the parking ban itself is set at twenty-five dollars, but that amount is explicitly in addition to whatever towing and storage charges the city or its towing contractor bills for removing and holding the vehicle, so the real cost to a driver who gets towed off a snow route is substantially higher than the base fine. The current penalty structure was last amended by Ord. No. G13-24 in March 2024.