It’s been more than a year since the Problem Solver first wrote about Loreen Targos and her mountain of unwarranted parking tickets, but the Loop resident can finally put the episode behind her.
You might recall Targos, who was issued dozens of tickets for parking her motorcycle in an unmarked, unmetered space on Randolph Street near State Street.
Police officers were convinced she should have to pay for parking there, even though it was clear from nearby signage the parking should be free.
Over many months, Targos received more than 50 tickets, all but two of which were thrown out by administrative hearing officers.
The other two tickets were upheld by hearing officers, forcing Targos to appeal the rulings to Cook County Circuit Court.
It wasn’t cheap.
The tickets were for $75 each. The filing fee to appeal was $82.11 per ticket.
After she filed her appeal, the city sent her a notice that the outstanding tickets had doubled to $150 each. Chicago also notified the nonprofit organization where Targos serves on the board of directors that they were in poor standing with the city because a board member had outstanding tickets, Targos said.
That only strengthened her resolve.
Armed with proof that she had parked legally in a free space, Targos went to court Monday to plead her case.
She said an attorney for the city informed her before the trial began that he would ask the judge to reverse the decision of the administrative hearing officer — essentially throwing out the two remaining tickets.
The judge then ordered the clerk of court to refund Targos’ $164.22 in filing fees.
“So, end of story,” Targos said. “All tickets have been officially dismissed.”
Well, the story doesn’t quite end there. After the Problem Solver wrote about the unmarked spot on Randolph, the city erected a sign prohibiting parking there.
No worries, though.
Targos said she has found other spots downtown where she can park her 1996 Honda VT 600 without paying.
So far, she has received no tickets for parking in those spots.
License to ride
Maria Ortiz can finally drive.
The Chicago resident, featured in the Nov. 17 column, used to rely on public transportation.
But with a young son she needs to shuttle around, Ortiz, 32, decided this year it was time to start driving.
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When she applied for a license, she was informed that she first had to clear up a ticket she received in Georgia.
Trouble was, she had never been to Georgia, much less driven there.
Turned out, someone with the same name and birth date received a ticket five years ago, and Georgia officials had incorrectly attached it to Ortiz’s record.
Getting the Georgia Department of Driver Services to send a letter to the secretary of state in Illinois proclaiming Ortiz’s innocence proved difficult — until the Problem Solver made some calls.
In mid-November, Georgia officials spoke with folks in Illinois, clearing the way for Ortiz to get her license.
That happened Monday.
Ortiz said that when she got to the secretary of state facility, there was initially some confusion over whether she had, in fact, cleared her name from the phantom Georgia ticket. A supervisor intervened, and things went smoothly thereafter.
“It was very nerve-wracking, but I did it,” Ortiz said.
She passed the road test and received her license moments later.
“I was smiling the rest of the night,” she said.
Phone home
Matt Fisher was finally able to call his family last weekend.
The Algonquin resident, serving with the Air Force in Italy, had applied for a program offered by his cellphone service provider, AT&T.;
The program allows overseas service members to pay what are essentially local rates for international calls, but his application got gummed up.
When the Problem Solver wrote about Fisher on Sunday, AT&T; had provided the family with a code to “unlock” his phone, allowing him to call home at a lower rate.
Fisher had not yet entered the code when the column ran, but he did a short time later.
“Everything worked out great,” said his dad, Tim Fisher. “His mother talked to him, and life is good.”
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