Formerly, Gary Poyser earned up to $1,500 a week as an Uber driver until two months ago when he received bad news from Uber.
“They sent me a letter about red tickets and parking violations,” he said. “If I do a payment plan, I can go back to driving.”
Poyser, 50, was surprised to learn that he’s been barred from driving over just $1,000 in ticket debt.
“I don't think they should stop people from driving because of tickets,” he said. “It’s holding back a lot of people. Uber wasn't able to resolve my problem. It's not an Uber issue. It’s a city issue.”
Poyser’s tickets are among the more than 3 million automated traffic camera violations issued each year by the City of Chicago, according to ProPublica Illinois. The city's aggressive ticketing brought in a staggering $264 million in 2016, which is the equivalent of about 7% of the city’s $3.6 billion operating budget.
The cost of a citation ranges from $25 for broken headlights to $250 for drivers who park their cars in disabled people's parking spaces without the proper credentials.
“I tried to reach out to the online service the city has, and they were helpful in telling me how much I owed,” he said. “I get to choose the payment plan.”
ProPublica 2007 data analysis determined that the city’s low-income, mostly black neighborhoods are disproportionately impacted with the most accumulated ticket debt per adult found in eight of the 10 majority-black Illinois zip codes.
“They’re putting people out of work who want to earn,” said Poyser, who is originally from Jamaica. “There are people out there who don't want to earn and they’re just creating a web of no people out working. So, they should release the chains and give the people the opportunity to earn.”
The Waukegan resident and his wife have eight children including a 12- and a 6-year-old. But currently, only Poyser’s wife is working.
“If you shut down somebody to make no income, what are you saying to society? That you don't care,” Poyser told Flexible Work News. “It’s pretty much creating an evil force with people who aren’t able to go to work because they don't have the freedom of their license.”
When a Cook County department or agency has decided to deny renewal, suspend or revoke a general business license, a notice and copy are delivered to the applicant as well as the Department of Revenue. The notice is considered “Prima Facie,” because it’s legally sufficient to deny issuance, deny renewal or suspend a business license. However, a license can only be suspended, denied or revoked after a License Administration Hearing is held where the applicant is given a seven-days notice. The director of revenue may also grant one continuance after a “show of good cause.”
“If I had a chance to talk to Mayor Lightfoot, I would tell her that people need their jobs and in order for people to work and pay taxes and take care of their responsibility, she should not hinder people from working because this is why to be poor is a crime,” Poyser said. “When people are poor and have no other means, they turn to crime.”
The Code further allows a business to be immediately closed if its license is denied, suspended or revoked. Although an applicant may appeal the decision of the License Administration Hearing, filing an appeal will not stop the business from closing down or the license suspension. If the appeal is denied, the Department of Administrative Hearings administers a notice to the appropriate party saying the decision is upheld. If the appeal is successful, the department will notify the appropriate party and the business license will be reinstated. The Department of Revenue can file an appeal against the Department of Administrative Hearing’s rule with the circuit court.
App drivers like Poyser have two options if their license is suspended due to unpaid parking ticket debt.
The City of Chicago website states that drivers can pay all parking ticket violations and fines in full by making checks payable to the City of Chicago Department of Finance or they may choose to challenge the license suspension by filing an appeal with the secretary of state within 21 days of notice of suspension.
Finally, when challenging the Department of Administrative Hearing’s decision, the appeal must be in writing and will only be accepted if “you were not the owner or lessee of the vehicle or vehicles which received 10 or more parking or compliance violation notices or five or more automated red light violations on the date or dates such notices were issued, you have already paid the fine and penalty for the 10 or more violations or five or more automated red light violations indicated on the report or you did not receive notice of the impending suspension of your driver’s license.”
Editor’s Note: This story is part of an ongoing series covering the impact of government policy on those earning money from the gig economy.