The Family Parking Space

In a new twist on Chicago and Cook County's reputation for pols using dead people to tally some extra votes, or at least their names, now we have relatives holding on to their handicapped parking spaces.

A little inter-generational bridge from the big parking space in the sky to a little parking space conveniently in front of the family home.

In the ultimate insult, a Dumpster was parked in one disabled space. Sun Times:

Nearly 10 percent -- 1,097 -- of the 11,423 disabled spots on city rolls last year were at addresses where no nearby resident holds a state-issued disabled license plate or parking credential, as required by law.

A Sun-Times review of active city permits found 260 spaces set aside for dead people. Some of those spaces have been removed by the city, but as of late October more than half remained, leaving 131 disabled parking spots for people who are dead. In some cases, the permit holder has been dead five years or more.

"Anybody who runs those [programs] should do periodic updates, and check those things for people that have died, people that have moved," said Bill Bogdan, disability liaison for Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. "The people that turn around and park there, I don't know what goes through their minds. They know that it's wrong."

Yeah, what were they thinking?! How could this happen? Ah.....

The Department of Revenue administers the program, but applications often come through the office of the local alderman.

The 21st Ward on the South Side has the highest number of permits -- 589 -- according to city data. The 11th Ward, which includes Bridgeport and is the Daley family's political base, has the second highest number -- 511.

Taking the family business to new heights, reaching back through time, it's the family parking space! And while they're culling the parking permits, how about the voter rolls.

UPDATE: From a related Sun Times story on relatives' excuses:

One parking scofflaw showed originality -- asserting his mother was still alive.

And why not? It's a treasured Chicago tradition:

Rob Dyckman, 51, parks his silver Saturn in his mother's disabled parking spot in the 5800 block of South Kolmar. He does not have a disabled license plate or a state disabled placard. But in Dyckman's view, that's OK. "My mom's 90. I drive her," Dyckman said. "She has kidney problems."

But Dyckman's mother, Rose Momich, died Nov. 26, 2001, at 83. The City Council voted to honor her in December 2001, in a resolution that noted that "God in His infinite wisdom has called Rose Momich to her eternal reward." Dyckman could not be reached for further comment.

How appropriate. And perhaps disabled parking permits should now be crosschecked against City Council resolutions.