Shoutout to the guy who tried to 'settle' a parking ticket with a gift card to Portillo's

I was at the Daley Center last Tuesday waiting to pay a $75 parking violation I got on Milwaukee Ave. Some dude walks up to the counter and tries to hand the clerk a Portillo's gift card worth $20 saying 'this should cover it since I'm a regular.' The clerk deadpanned and said 'sir this is a court building not a drive-thru.' I couldn't help but laugh out loud right there. It got me thinking though - how many people try weird stuff like trading random items for fines? Has anyone else seen someone attempt a creative payment method to get out of a ticket?

3 comments

3 Comments

felixlane1d ago

Guy thought court fines worked on the same honor system as a hot dog stand. Maybe he should have tried the coupon stack next.

ray_sullivan1d ago

You really think the honor system is the problem here? Look, the guy was dumb, sure. But the court system is also a mess. Fees pile up fast, people get buried. Not everyone who walks into traffic court is some rich guy with a coupon book. They're just regular people trying to get through the day. Maybe he was broke, scared, or just clueless. A hot dog stand is a bad comparison. Hot dogs don't put you in jail or ruin your credit. Let's be real about the difference.

phoenix_martin401d ago

Traffic court in Cook County let me do a payment plan once when I had $80 to my name. @felixlane makes a joke but the real move is showing up early with cash and asking the clerk about deferred adjudication. Miss one payment and they tack on fees that double what you owed. I saw a guy get hit with a $150 late fee on a $60 ticket because he tried to mail it in. Next time tell them to just ask for a continuance and save up first.