Neighbors ‘very annoyed’ after city failed to remove disabled parking spots when owners died

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — The City of Chicago allows people with disabilities living in some neighborhoods to get a personal handicapped parking spot right in front of their homes.

Those spots are assigned to one individual and only while that person lives at there, but CBS 2 Morning Insider Lauren Victory found some of those reserved spots are for people who have been dead for quite some time.

On the West Side, there’s a busy boulevard and a few busybodies – well, frustrated and in-the-know residents – who care about the goings-on in Garfield Park.

“I should be able to park on my block,” one woman said.

“Ugh. Very annoyed,” said the other.

Both asked to stay anonymous, for fear of retaliation by their neighbors. The source of tension? Disabled parking signs.

They’re assigned to Washington Boulevard homeowners and some of them have passed away.

“When I come home from work, there’s no parking,” said one woman. That’s because the disabled spots are still being used, and it is not by the person the spot is assigned to.

The women say, if they try to park there, someone calls police, even though the spot is meant for a person who is now dead.

“When you buy a house, it does not come with parking,” said one lady, referring to street parking.

That’s true.

The City must approve each residential disabled parking sign, and requires an annual $25 maintenance fee.

A sign is supposed to be removed and a spot reverted back to public space when the applicant moves or dies.

“And it’s been over a year and there’s three signs on my block that have not been moved,” said one of the women.

The other tells CBS 2, “I told some of my co-workers at work about and she said the same thing happens in and she said it’s the same thing on her block.”

The Department of Finance puts the onus on relatives to report the deaths so signs can be taken down.

Should that policy change? Perhaps forgetfulness due to grief, or more cynically the desire for a sweet spot prevents timely updates to the city.

Less than 48 hours after CBS 2 contacted the City, the three disabled parking signs in question on Washington Boulevard near Keeler Avenue were removed.

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