Hundreds of car owners filed into the city's impound lots on Monday, braving the bitter cold to retrieve their wheels that were towed for the start of the annual overnight winter parking ban.
The city issued an unheard-of, one-day reprieve on Sunday, giving drivers informational flyers instead of tows on the first night of the ban.
But 244 drivers were still caught unaware Monday morning and had their vehicles towed, according to the Department of Streets and Sanitation.
That's slightly less than the 263 vehicles that were towed last year on the first day of enforcement. The winter parking ban is enforced 3 to 7 a.m. from Dec. 1 to April 1, regardless of snow.
Drivers picking up cars at the impound lot 701 N. Sacramento Ave. all expressed frustration with the winter parking ban, likening it to a cash grab.
"It's 'Crook County.' What do I expect?" said Luis Garcia, 40.
Garcia had two of his family's car towed outside their home on Division Street near Karlov Avenue. His security camera showed the cars were towed at 5:17 a.m., just three minutes before he woke up for work.
He was left on the hook for paying double the normal fee of $235, which includes a minimum $150 towing fee, a $60 ticket and a storage fee of $25 per day.
Garcia had recently moved back to Chicago after 20 years and had forgotten about the parking ban.
"I'm not mad. At the end of the day, I parked where I should have never parked," Garcia said.
The city introduced the ban after the snowstorm of 1979 to ensure arterial streets were clear for plows. But drivers continue to be confused by the signs that, while mentioning a parking ban when there's over 2 inches of snow, are enforced whether or not there is snow on the ground.
The signs "should just [say] that there's no parking at all," Garcia said.
Towed vehicles go to the pound at 10301 S. Doty Ave. or on Sacramento.
Alaibek Ibraev, 42, stepped out of his Rogers Park home at 7 a.m. for his construction job when he found his car missing from Clark Street.
First he called police, then the city's non-emergency line, and ended up calling all of the city's tow lots to find where his car was taken.
He had never been towed before. Although he's had a condo in Rogers Park for three years, the Dec. 1 winter parking ban start date surprised him.
"It comes up on you," he said.
Street parking is very limited in Rogers Park.
"It's freaking almost impossible," he said.
To check if a car was towed, visit chicagoshovels.org or call 311.
Contributing: Sophie Sherry
