Every number on this page comes from the City of Chicago's own data, obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests. We analyzed 35.7 million individual ticket records spanning 2018-2025.
This is not a guess. This is not an estimate. This is what the city charged people.
These 10 violations account for about 88% of a year's ticket billing (fines + late fees). For 2 categories (plate sticker, city sticker) Autopilot reminds you to renew in time, and helps you avoid 7 more through car monitoring. Amounts are billed dollars, 3-yr average 2022–24, per FOIA F118906.
Out of 5.25 million tickets issued in 2025, only 7% were contested. The other 93% of people just paid — or worse, ignored the ticket until it doubled.
But here's the thing: of the parking tickets contested by mail, 59% were found "Not Liable." The driver won. The ticket was dismissed.
Expired plates have an 87% mail-in dismissal rate. No city sticker: 79%. Most people just pay these tickets because contesting feels like a hassle. That's exactly what the city is counting on.
Autopilot does it for you. We monitor your plate, catch new tickets within days, and mail a custom contest letter before the deadline. You don't lift a finger.
Red light and speed cameras billed ~$204M a year (fines + late fees). That's more than every parking ticket type combined.
Autopilot America's car monitoring gives you a heads-up when you're approaching a red light or speed camera. Every one is a $35-$100 ticket you don't pay.
Enter your address and see exactly how many tickets have been written on your block in the last 8 years. This is real City of Chicago data from 35.7 million ticket records.
Most Chicago drivers have tickets they don't even know about. Doubled fines. Notices they missed. We'll file a free FOIA request to the City of Chicago on your behalf and email you every ticket, boot, and tow tied to your plate.
Want to see the damage first? We'll file a free Freedom of Information Act request to the City of Chicago and email you every ticket, camera violation, boot, tow, and storage fee tied to your plate — including ones you never knew about. Most drivers just protect their car and let us handle the rest.
Curious first? Run a free FOIA lookup →Takes 30 seconds · results by email in ~5-7 business days.
That's how much Chicago drivers currently owe in unpaid tickets from just the last 6 years. Late penalties. Collection fees. Boot risk. The meter is always running.
44,014 vehicles were booted in 2025. Don't let yours be next.
Protect My Car — $99/yearOne city sticker ticket pays for two years. Two street cleaning tickets pay for the year. The average driver saves 3x what they pay.
Start Protecting My Car — $99/yearRather pay only when we act? Safety Net is $0 to join (a card is required) — pay-per-use: a contest win costs 50% of what we save you, or $15 + the fine to pay a ruled-liable ticket on time. Includes contest-by-mail, late-fee pay, and free boot/tow watch. The app and camera/meter alerts are Pro-only.
All statistics on this page are derived from Chicago Department of Finance ticket-export FOIA F118906-110325 (Chicago ticket rows, 2019–2024; the broader F129773-022626 covers 2018–2025). The headline $429M figure is the amount the City actually billed — SUM(total_payments + current_amount_due), its own paid-plus-still-owed money columns — averaged over the three matured years 2022–24: $289M in original fines + $140M in late penalties actually billed (SUM(MAX(0, total_payments + current_amount_due − fine_level1))). We do not use fine_level2 (the doubled price printed on every ticket whether or not the late fee was charged), which overstates late fees. Contest and win rates from the hearings table (mail contests, decided cases, 2023–2025 trailing). The full ticket file is downloadable on our data sources page.