Governor Signs Stolen Vehicle Bill
Senate Bill (SB2654) requires that we amend the way we charge for stolen vehicles. This will be detrimental to towers in many aspects. Originally, we were not going to be paid a dime for ANY operation dealing with a stolen vehicle. If you have doubts about this look up SB2654 on ilga.gov under bills and legislation. Then go to Senate Bill 2654. Then click on full text and then “as introduced” and it will show the bill as it was introduced. We would not get paid for towing, storage, administrative, or other charges. Due to the efforts of the PTROI we were able to get some relief, although it is definitely not what we wanted.
In the end, we will get paid for towing, recovery, and storage beginning seven days after the owner notification letter is sent. Notification must be sent via certified mail with a return receipt. Included in this law is a statement that the police must provide you with owner information within a reasonable period. There can be no admin fees, or anything else charged for this tow. Remember, this applies to stolen vehicles only!! This bill goes into effect January 1, 2025.
In addition to the items we currently have to release, we now must release all and any medical items, including hearing aids. We also must now release school textbooks and workbooks.
Also causing major concern is House Bill 1634(HB1634). This bill will outlaw any diesel engine built before 2010 if it is in a truck weighing more than 14,000 pounds. Moreover, whenever California amends or modifies its’ law, within six months we would have to comply with a law that we had no chance to object to. At this point there is no phase-in period, the engines would be unlawful when the governor signs the bill.
This bill has not yet passed, but we are continuing to watch, as all involved parties believe that the parties pushing it will not give up. The governor has said he does not support it, but that does not mean he will or will not sign it. You should use this information when you buy or sell equipment in the future.
We will continue to work on this bill to try to make it more palatable for the towing industry, but this is what we currently must comply with. Along with this there has been a change to the contents law.
| Scholarship Winners | Legislation | Big Ed Award |
| Congratulations to our 2023 Scholarship Winners!
Congratulations to our 2023 PTROI Scholarsip winners. Each one of them won a $1,000.00 scholarship to help with their education. We congratulate them and wish them nothing but the best going forward!
Alyssa Buczkowski, whose grandfather, Ray, is an owner of Ray and Wally’s Towing in Lynwood. Alyssa will be attending Prairie State and will major in speech pathology.
Emily Matthews, whose father, Mark and grandfather, Ron, both work for Tazewell towing. Emily will be attending Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida in pursuit of a degree in marine biology. The scholarship is open to immediate family members of PTROI members and is awarded in October at the meeting at Lynch-Chicago. Illinois Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Law takes effect on January 1, 2021. This is the most recent update. This new law states that every employee in the state of Illinois must have this training. The PTROI has, on this website, the Illinois Department of Human Resources model training PDF presentation. This is free and is said to take about 30 minutes. For more, click here. |
Chicago Passes Licensing Law for Tow Trucks The City of Chicago has passed an ordinance that will require licensing of all tow trucks. This is being done to fight wreckchasers. The PTROI has vehemently opposed this at considerable cost because, in our opinion, the law-abiding towers will be punished for the wrongs of a few. We had been making decent progress on this law, but at that last moment Chicago did what it wanted to do with no regard for the honest towers. We were told early on by Alderman Villegas that this was not a money deal, but now it appears that it is a money deal. The licensing fee will be $250.00 per truck and up to $750.00 per yard. We will be having zone meetings soon to try to get everyone up to date on the ordinance and it’s particulars. To view the ordinance click here.
Illinois Commerce Commission to Look at Overcharging by Rogue Towers I do not know how many of you have heard, but the Illinois Commerce Commission is discussing ways to correct the practice of overcharging for tows. Below is a TV report on the ways in which one company overcharges. There was also a company in the Lasalle area that overcharged for a police tow. It was a heavy-duty recovery that priced out as $221,000.00. Yep, that was two hundred twenty-one thousand dollars. While there are more than two companies in the state that overcharge, the vast majority of towers are reasonable with their rates, pricing to make a living, but not hurt anyone. Note that neither of these companies are PTROI members. One of them, we even spent a bunch of money to keep out. Click here for more.
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Jack Herman Wins Big Ed Award
Our congratulations go out to Jack Herman of Wildwood Service in Gages Lake for winning the Big Ed Award. This award, named after Ed Batson, is a very prestigious award given to a person that show dedication to both the PTROI and his community. Perhaps his letter of appreciation (below) will show the kind of person that he is.
Sincerely, Jack Herman PTROI MEMBER BENEFITS Education and Training: As a #1 Priority the PTROI covers a wide range of topics from operating a tow truck to managing a business profitably to handling the stress of the day to day operations of a towing company. Through training schools and seminars the tower is kept up to date on knowledge of current laws that pertain to the industry. Click here for more.
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