Citation and Tow Appeal Procedure
Parking Citation Appeal
Any person charged with a violation of University Parking regulations must pay the monetary penalty. If the payment is made within seven (7) calendar days, a written appeal may be filed, but the filing must be within the seven (7) day period from receipt of citation. In cases where appeals are upheld, the monetary penalty or a portion of it will be refunded. A notification will be mailed to the appellant informing them of the appeal determination.
Parking Citation Appeal Forms are available by phone 309-438-8391 or you can pick one up in person from the Office of Parking and Transportation. You may also download the form:
Tow Citation Appeal
Any vehicle owner or operator whose vehicle is towed pursuant to the Illinois State University Parking Regulations may, within seven (7) days of the tow, apply for an appeal at the Office of Parking and Transportation. If the vehicle owner or operator establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that vehicle was towed in error, Parking and Transportation will reimburse the vehicle owner or operator an amount no greater than the towing and storage fee collected by the towing company.
What You Need to Know About the Appeal Procedure
The first step in the appeal process is a review of the written appeal by the Appeal Officer. It is important, therefore, to include all pertinent information in the written appeal. If the Appeal Officer finds a violation of the published rules and regulations occurred and the correct citation was issued, the appeal is denied and the case is closed. If the Appeals Officer finds instances where the violation is not specifically published, or where extenuating conditions may have contributed to the violation, the appeal will be upheld and the monetary penalty, or a portion of it, will be returned.
At the time you initiate the appeal the date and time that the appeal will be reviewed will be established. Your presence is not required at the time the appeal is reviewed. Appeals are reviewed on the 1st and 15th of each month. Appeals reviewed on the 1st day of the month will include appeals submitted from the 15th of the preceding month through the last day of the preceding month. Appeals reviewed on the 15th of the month will include appeals submitted from the first day of the current month through the 14th of the current month.
If the Appeal Officer approves the appeal, the amount of the monetary refund is determined and an appeal determination form is emailed to each appellant so that they are aware of the outcome of the appeal. Refunds may take 6 weeks to process and will be mailed separately from the appeal determination form. Where appropriate, the amount paid may be refunded back to a debit or credit card that was used for the original method of payment.
Upon the request of the appellant, appeals denied by the Appeal Officer may be escalated to a second level review by the Associate Director of Parking and Transportation. Second level review requests must be submitted by the appellant within 30 days of the initial denial. Second level appeals which are denied may be appealed for a third time to the Parking and Transportation Advisory Committee upon request of the appellant. Requests for appeal review by the Parking Advisory Committee must be submitted within 30 days of the second level appeal denial. The determination of the Parking and Transportation Advisory Committee is considered the final decision.
Give 'Em A Break!
Under the "Give 'Em A Break" program, our office offers citation removal or reduction under certain circumstances. If you receive a citation you feel qualifies for a reduction or removal as indicated below, please contact our office within 7 days of receiving the citation. You do not need to participate in the citation appeal process to receive consideration under the Give 'Em A Break program.
University Affiliated Permit Holders:
The first failure to display, or improper display of permit citation you receive on campus is eligible for removal. Subsequent citations for this specific offense will be reduced to $5.00 upon your request. You must make the request within 30 days of receiving the citation
. Once a citation has been transferred to the Student Accounts office for collection, you are no longer eligible for a reduction or removal so it is important you contact us within 30 days.
Non-University Affiliated Customers:
Visitors to our campus are eligible to have the first citation they receive removed provided the citation was not issued for any of the violations listed below.
- Parking in an ADA (handicapped) space without a valid State issued placard.
- Safety violations (fire lanes, walks and drives, failure to follow parking lot attendant instructions).
- Parking in posted construction areas.
- Parking in special use spaces like loading zones, business permit spaces and bagged/reserved meters or spaces.