Lincoln Towing Service is the DBA name of Protective Parking Corporation, one of the largest towing services in Chicago, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The primary business location is at 4882 N. Clark Street, in the Uptown community area of Chicago in Cook County, with a second location at 4601 W. Armitage Avenue. The company was founded by Ross Cascio, who sold the company on January 20, 1981. The firm became controversial in the late 1960s and 1970s, with Chicago Daily News columnist Mike Royko publishing several articles on Cascio's alleged strong-arm tactics, Aldermanic candidate Dick Simpson making the firm a campaign issue, and folk singer Steve Goodman writing a song about the firm, calling them the "Lincoln Park Pirates."
The company describes itself as relocators who protect property owners from illegal parkers on parking lots with contracts for the company's services. Its business is parking enforcement, and the company does not provide roadside assistance. The company, its relocators and its dispatchers are regulated and licensed by the Illinois Commerce Commission. On September 12, 2018, the ICC revoked Lincoln Towing's Illinois relocation towing license. However, a Cook County judge subsequently overruled the ICC's decision, reinstating Lincoln Towing's license.
Business
Lincoln provides relocation services for landlords with tenant parking problems and for commercial property owners with similar problems. The primary business is removing vehicles from parking spaces. The business claims the largest fleet of wheel-lift and flatbed towing vehicles in Chicago. The business model is such that towing companies engage in exclusive towing contracts for properties and collect fees from owners of unauthorized vehicles that have been towed. However, the company also provides vehicle repossession services and parking lot management services which include snow removal, pot hole patching, striping, and complete parking lot construction. As a private company enforcing private property parking, the company does not issue parking tickets in addition to charging for towing and storage, unlike the City of Chicago, which does for parking in tow zones. It has towed over 30,000 parked cars since September 5, 2005, which makes it Chicago's leading relocator.
Towing is a business regulated by the Illinois Commerce Commission and specifically by the Illinois Commercial Relocation of Trespassing Vehicles Law. These laws are found under Chapter 625 of the Illinois Consolidated Statutes at Title 5/Chapter 18A and Chapter 92 of the Illinois Administrative Code: Part 1710. This law regulates the activities of companies that tow unauthorized vehicles from private property in Cook, Will, Kane, DuPage, and Winnebago counties. This law does not affect the towing of cars parked on public streets, companies which provide roadside assistance–related towing, companies involved in repossession, or vehicles towed at the direction of local enforcement authorities.
Controversies
1960s and 1970s
Starting in 1967, Chicago Daily News columnist Mike Royko wrote a series of articles about Cascio that continued for over a decade. Royko claimed that "to intimidate those who objected, Cascio hung bats, blackjacks, chains and other pacifiers on his office wall. If a person tried to escape with his own car, Cascio's men would dance on his chest." Cascio sued Royko twice, but lost both suits.
As early as 1968, complaints were lodged against Lincoln Towing Service claiming that the company was towing cars without legal standing and threatening people who tried to reclaim automobiles without paying.
In 1971, the company became an issue during the 44th Ward aldermanic race. James Kargman, one of the candidates, called for a campaign to "hit Cascio in the pocketbook—where it hurts." Kargman worked to encourage several local businesses to cancel contracts with Lincoln Towing Service. In an interview, Cascio commented, "Most of these firms that canceled have informed me they'd be back after the aldermanic elections are over and the heat is off." Shortly after the aldermanic race, a mob of 300 people attacked a Lincoln Towing employee who was removing a car from a parking lot.
The Chicago City Council debated taking actions against the firm.