SPRINGFIELD –Thanks to State Senator Laura Murphy (D—Des Plaines), vehicle owners will now be granted more communication from property owners seeking to tow their vehicles.

“Car owners will have more protections to move their vehicle if a property owner needs it removed from their property,” Murphy said. “This law will ensure vehicle owners are promptly notified so they can move their car—saving both vehicle owners and property managers time and money.”

Before this law, property owners were required to provide written instructions before towing vehicles. However, distributing only physical warnings causes many residents who may not be able to physically receive mail to miss the notice, leaving them to deal with the cost to get their car back. In one such instance, a resident in the district Murphy represents was out of town and could not receive the written notice, and came back to find their vehicles were taken to a storage facility without their knowledge—one of which was sold at auction. After hearing from this community member, Murphy wanted to modernize the law to ensure there is clear communication between property and vehicle owners in the event of a vehicle being towed and prevent similar situations from happening.  

Murphy’s law will require property owners to provide a more direct notice to people that have established agreements to park with the owners. This means property owners are required to, at a minimum, contact the vehicle owner via a telephone call, text message, or an email to the address or number provided by the vehicle owner at least three hours before the vehicle is towed.

“Most residents would try to prevent their car from being towed—it is extremely inconvenient, expensive and they risk completely losing their vehicle,” Murphy said. “With this law, I hope that communication between property managers and residents will improve, and unnecessary car removals can be avoided.”

Senate Bill 3629 was signed into law last Friday and goes into effect Jan. 1, 2023.