Mascoutah man fights Chicago ticket tied to UPS Vehicle

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Zachary Daum
[email protected] • A Mascoutah resident says he is being repeatedly cited by the City of Chicago for an automated parking violation involving a UPS delivery truck, despite not having been in Chicago since 1988 and not owning or operating a commercial vehicle.

Rodger Long, a retired locksmith who lived and worked in Mascoutah for more than 35 years, said the situation began earlier this year when he received an automated parking enforcement warning from the City of Chicago’s Department of Finance.

“In April, I received an automated parking enforcement warning in the mail saying that I was illegally parked up in Chicago,” Long said. “I went to the website, and it shows the offending vehicle as a UPS truck.”

According to Long, the photographs attached to the warning show a clearly marked UPS delivery truck, yet the license plate number displayed in the image matches his own Illinois passenger vehicle plate.

“It has the same numbers,” Long said. “But obviously, a UPS truck and a passenger vehicle are not the same thing. Any 5-year-old can tell you that.”

Long said he has never driven a UPS vehicle and does not work for the company. He said the only time he has ever been in Chicago was in 1988, when he traveled to O’Hare International Airport to catch a flight.

After receiving the initial warning, Long contested the citation online. Records show that one Smart Streets warning issued on April 29, 2025 was later ruled “Not Liable” by the City of Chicago Department of Administrative Hearings, and no payment was required.

However, Long said a separate ticket tied to the same vehicle later resulted in a $250 fine. He said he was ultimately found liable for that violation despite submitting evidence that he was not involved.

“It seems that an administrative law judge reviewed the evidence I submitted,” Long said. “Which was that I’ve never been to Chicago. I don’t work for UPS. I don’t drive a UPS vehicle. And I was still found liable.”

Since then, Long has received multiple payment reminders from the City of Chicago warning that the $250 ticket could be sent to collections, with additional penalties added if unpaid.

Long said he contacted the Mascoutah Police Department and filed a police report. An officer ran his license plate and found no outstanding violations or issues tied to his vehicle.

“The officer said there’s nothing on my plate,” Long said. “No speeding tickets, no anything.”

The officer attempted to call the phone number listed on the Chicago notices but was disconnected after being placed on hold. Long said he experienced the same problem when attempting to contact the city himself.

Long also contacted a Chicago attorney, who advised that contesting the ticket in court would likely cost more than paying the fine.

“He told me it would take more money for him to go to court and fight the $250 ticket,” Long said. “He said if it were him, he would just pay it and get new license plates.”

Long said that is not an option.

“The license plate I have has been in my family for over 58 years,” he said. The plate number originally his father’s, issued for his first car, and Long said he wants to keep it for sentimental reasons.

Long also emailed both the Chicago mayor and the Chicago police chief with documentation related to the case. He said he never received a response.

“I never got a response from the mayor or the chief of police,” Long said.

The citations were issued through Chicago’s Smart Streets pilot program, which uses automated license plate readers mounted on city vehicles to enforce parking and traffic regulations. Long believes the system is misreading or misclassifying license plates, particularly when distinguishing between commercial and passenger vehicles.

“The license plate reader is not picking up the whole license plate,” Long said. “It’s missing something, numbers or letters, or even the type of plate.”

Long said the license plate shown in the photographs does not match his own plate design, which he described as an older Illinois plate that is not all white like newer plates.

“It doesn’t match the one in the picture either,” he said.

Long said a Mascoutah police officer told him another local resident had received a similar automated warning tied to a Tennessee license plate, despite never having been there.

Long also said his family experienced a similar situation decades ago, when his father received a Chicago parking ticket for a vehicle that had never been in the city. That case was resolved quickly with a phone call.

“There were no cameras back then,” Long said. “No computers deciding who got tickets. They said sorry for the mix-up, and that was it.”

Long said the automated nature of the current system makes correcting mistakes far more difficult.

“No human has looked at the pictures and said this is a truck and this is a passenger car,” he said. “It’s all automated.”

Long said he worries the problem will continue, as he has already received another automated warning involving the same UPS truck.

“At this point, I’m waiting to see if I’m going to get another ticket,” he said.

If that happens, Long said he may attempt to contact the Illinois Secretary of State or UPS directly, though he said reaching a real person has proven difficult.

“I would hope somebody seriously looks into it,” Long said. “Because if it’s happening to me, who knows how many other people it’s happening to.”

Long said his hope in speaking publicly is that attention to the issue will prompt city officials to review the system more closely.

“If this gets to the right people, they can seriously look into it,” he said.

For others who may find themselves in a similar situation, Long offered simple advice.

“Go up to the police station with all the information and file a police report,” he said. “That way you have a record that a law enforcement agency looked at it and said, yeah, this is not right.”

So far Long has received a single $250 ticket and several warnings, all tied to the same UPS vehicle. His most recent warning was received related to a Nov. 11 violation.