Aurora, IL Parking Rules: Towing & Impound Rights (2026)

Section 29-48 is Aurora's local adoption of 625 ILCS 5/11-208.7, and it is the section that decides what a police impound actually costs. The city administrative fee is $500 for a passenger vehicle and $1,000 for a commercial motor vehicle. That fee is paid to the city itself, while the towing and storage charges are collected by and paid to the firm that hauled and stored the car, so an Aurora release normally means two payees rather than one bill.

The seizure list in Sec. 29-48 is long and specific. It reaches DUI under 625 ILCS 5/11-501, driving on a suspended or revoked license under Sec. 6-303, driving on a license expired more than one year, never having been issued a license, street racing under Sec. 11-506, reckless driving under Sec. 11-503 including reckless driving that interferes with a funeral procession, offenses under the Cannabis Control Act and the Illinois Controlled Substances Act, weapons offenses under Sections 24-1, 24-1.5 and 24-3.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012, theft offenses under Article 16, and any felony committed with the vehicle. One carve-out matters to a lot of Aurora drivers: the ordinance states that vehicles shall not be subjected to seizure or impoundment if the license suspension is for unpaid citation, parking or moving, or due to failure to comply with emission testing.

Getting the car out early runs through a cash bond. The owner of record or lessee may post $500 with the city, or $1,000 for a commercial motor vehicle, plus the towing and storage fees, and the vehicle comes out while the case is pending. The city then mails hearing notice to the owner, the lessee and any lienholder of record within ten days of the seizure, using the address in Illinois Secretary of State registration records, and the hearing must be held no later than forty-five days after the vehicle was seized. Formal rules of evidence do not apply and hearsay is admissible. The hearing officer decides by a preponderance of the evidence and issues a written decision sustaining or overruling the seizure. A posted bond is forfeited to the city if the impoundment is sustained; if the hearing officer overturns the basis for the impoundment, both the vehicle and the bond are ordered returned. Nothing in Sec. 29-48 as printed ties a refund of the $500 to the outcome of the underlying criminal or traffic case, so a later dismissal in court is not by itself a route to getting the administrative fee back.

The tow itself must be performed by a company licensed under chapter 46, article I. Aurora keeps a police tow roster of no more than twelve firms at any one time, kept by the police department and open to public inspection, with a $1,500 fee due on approval of the application and again on each anniversary date, and a firm that has been fined by the Illinois Commerce Commission is ineligible for the roster. Roster firms must keep an attendant on call to release vehicles to the authorized party twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and an attendant available for recovery of personal items Monday through Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., except New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Section 46-21 requires an itemized statement of services performed, labor and special equipment used, furnished on request to the registered owner or the insurance carrier, and it forbids demanding payment as a condition precedent to handing that statement over. Section 46-19 gives the owner, an insurance adjuster, a body shop or a car dealer access to the stored vehicle to estimate damage, except on vehicles with a police hold. Section 46-17 makes the towing firm responsible for damage to vehicles while in its possession, and Sec. 46-26 lets the owner or operator designate a towing service and a destination of their own choosing. Rates are amended by city council resolution only after a public hearing noticed at least ten days ahead in a newspaper and by letter to every roster firm, and maximum fees may not exceed towing plus thirty days of storage unless the chief of police authorizes more.