It's Official - We ARE City Dwellers!!

This is a Chicago 'City Sticker'. It is to be displayed in your vehicle, to indicate you live in Chicago and have paid for your right to park on city streets. Cost: $75. If you don't get one within 30 days of moving to Chicago - proof with a mortgage or lease contract - then you will be fined $40, on top of any tickets you may have received.

The vehicle stickers ALL go from June 1 to June 30. For EVERYONE in Chicago with a vehicle. In May, I called around looking for a sticker. I was told they were sold out in the entire city. But, if we didn't get one within 30 days of moving, we'd be fined $40. After our license plate expiration debacle, I didn't want to take chances. I went to the horse.

On Friday, J drove me downtown to the place my 'Newcomers Guide to Chicago' book told me to go. After walking down an escalator (it wasn't working), I finally found the office. I stood in line for some guy to tell me I had to go across the street, to City Hall, to get a city sticker. Back up the broken escalator. It had started raining. I had on flip flops and no umbrella.

I found City Hall. It is big. I couldn't find the office I needed. So, I asked someone. I walked down several long hallways. And stood in line. To be told there were no more city stickers and to come back on Monday. But was I going to be charged $40 if I come on Monday? The lady gave me her name, and said that if they charged me for being late, to tell them she said not to. Nirvana was her name. I wasn't feeling Nirvana.

J took a bus to City Hall this morning, waited in line for an hour, and purchased our city sticker. No late fee. It seems minor, but this is a major accomplishment for us. I'm feeling Nirvana now.