I’m in Chicago (north side) and I have the tools but no vehicle – DL suspended due to $2000 in unpaid parking tickets. I’m a fairly good carpenter but I also do tile, plumbing and electrical, etc. I know these Chicago bungalows, 2-flats and 6-flats inside out. Serious inquiries can see some of the work I did for friends.
You can contact me at (773) 334-8066 or email me at [email protected]
Click here to see some pics of some of the things I’ve done over the years. Consider it a sort of photo resume.
~ WebTrooper ~
“But don’t take my word for it. I was wrong once and it could happen again!”
Edited 1/2/2004 2:41:16 PM ET by WebTrooper
Edited 1/2/2004 2:46:38 PM ET by WebTrooper
Replies
So how many tickets did it take to reach $2000 ?
Do it right, or do it twice.
About $1000 worth and time for them to double.~ WebTrooper ~
"But dont take my word for it. I was wrong once and it could happen again!"
Just replying to my own message to let everyone know I'm still looking. I do have a kitchen and possiblly a bathroom to rehab starting on the 1st. I'm doing the drywall, cabinets, tile, and painting the whole apartment (old plaster repairs maybe). Demolition, plumbing, electrical and floor sanding are all subbed out.
Today I started building a kids coat cabinet to fit behind a couch. My buddy designed it and said "Build this" and I said "uh-kay". Basically 2 oak planks and plywood. I'm building it in my makeshift shop.
The other day I knocked out 2, hundred year old tripple unit concrete sinks and replaced them with a plastc double unit. Old plumbing is fun!
So you see, I ain't sittin round on my duff waiting for the phone to ring and I won't be available till 02/04 anyways. But I'm still looking. Consider this sort of my resume.
002 - The 6/4 stock on the right will be the bottom shelf where they put their muddy shoes. It's pinned down because it's ever so slightly bowed, easier to align with the top. The rounded one is 5/4 stock. I have 1/4 shims under it. They're aligned so I can route out some rabbets for the dividers.
003 - I don't have a fancy shaper table. I rigged this up so I could round the edges on the top piece. I tried without the rigging but a 6' 5/4 x 10 is too clumsy to handle.
001 - The sink is anchored at the floor and the panel (wall?) behind it. I added a separate waste pipe for the washer so it doesn't have to empty into the sink.
005 - A souvenier.~ WebTrooper ~
"But don't take my word for it. I was wrong once and it could happen again!"
That is why I just revently moved out of the city, parking. I hate the parking regulations and all of the tickets that I have on my truck. I just received a "package" of old parking tickets from the city, and yes I owe more than you do. Now I have to see what will happen since my truck isn't reistered in Illinois.
Did you try and negotiate any kind of settlement with them? Just curious what and how you are handling this parking ticket problem.
When I'm able to pay up (i.e. I have something to negotiate with) then I'll try and swing a deal first. I guess you may or may not get lucky depending on if the state you registered in collaborates with Chicago or Illinois. Some years ago I would have been able to go to any boardering state and get my liscence there. Now they all collaborate and crossreference with eachother. Darned Internet!
More than I have? Wow! You must have been working downtown. Then again, they would have just towed your truck. You must have been putting some effort into it. My lesson is learned, they accumulate fast. I'm hoping the upcoming remodeling project will pay them off and leave me another $2K for a beater and 6 months insurance. At least, that's the plan. I should cut back my Christmas budget but no, that's just not me.~ WebTrooper ~
"But don't take my word for it. I was wrong once and it could happen again!"
I jsut moved out of Rogers Park and there was a complete lack of parking there. The only places to park it seemed were metered spots. Now what they would do was to come through at like a quarter to seven and start writing tickets every evening. They knew that they would get alot of people becuase meter enforcement stopped at seven, I hated them. They would write me tickets for everything conceivable commercial vehicle on a residential streeet, expired meter, expired tags (even when they weren't), parking over the yellow line(even though there were no lines in the area I was parked). I hate the city cops!
This just reminds me why I gave up driving and started riding a bike or taking the train everywhere.
One other thing. While I don't think that they can suspend my license, it's not suspended now I jsut renewed it over Thanksgiving, they can take me to court. I'm waiting to see if they go that route and then I'll see if I can get a reasonable person to maybe cut down the total amount owed if I'm willing to pay in full immediatly.
Good luck with them. Let me know how things turn out for you.
(Oh yeah, the total was twenty four hundred dollars total and goes back to Christmas eve of ninety nine. I don't think that they have all of them on there either.)
One other thing of note. I just looked at your pictures and that is a pretty good space for the city.
I maintain the buildings in exchange for it, probably 5 hrs. a month. I've done a lot of cool projects in it, built a couple of entertainment systems, some windows, repaired furniture, and all kinds of stuff. Only downside it that I share it with a boiler for a 6 flat. It gets hot in there.
I took out the old brick locomotive boiler that was built into the building a couple of years ago and patched it kind of rough. The floors are like a roller coaster anyway.~ WebTrooper ~
"But don't take my word for it. I was wrong once and it could happen again!"
Forgot to mention, it's about 30' from my door.~ WebTrooper ~
"But don't take my word for it. I was wrong once and it could happen again!"
Those are always the best shops to et in the city, the ones in your building. The funny part is is that is about the only way to get one. BAsicallyt to know somebody or to live in a building and ask the landlord if they have any space available.
Ironically, I had the space first. He hired me to remodel this apartment and I decided to keep it. About a 600 square foot room with new everything. About 80% of my work is through these buildings (3 of 'em).
Another great thing is the tennants, they're all totally cool. BBQing in the back, all know eachother. It's a cozy situation. I'd considered if I ever want out of home improvement I could make a good living with just the shop.~ WebTrooper ~
"But don't take my word for it. I was wrong once and it could happen again!"
I finished the cabinet lefthanded having sprained my wrist (ouch!) and I am definately a right handed kinda guy. Its not really up to par with Fine Woodworking's high standards, the exposed plywood edges and all, but here it is anyway. The two lower squares are 13-1/4" square to fit Ikea 50 cm. storage boxes, the uppers fit Ikea magazine containers, and the three middle sections belong to 3 kids to put their dripping wet coats and muddy boots in.
The panels are all rabbeted into the top and bottom, and the bottom is rabbeted into the sides. All the edges are softened, about 1/8" radius. It stands 37" tall so the top is just higher than the sofa it will set back to back with. Finished with 2 coats of wipe-on poly. Total working time was about 14 hours.
See it here.
Don't know why but I can't find the opton to add an attachment. Glad I have a web server.~ WebTrooper ~
"But don't take my word for it. I was wrong once and it could happen again!"
I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that I went and paid off the blood money, no excuse me, parking tickets in the city the other day. Apparently because they took so long to find me they didn't put any extra fines on my parking tickets, just the original amount.
My other half said that she was wrapping up the receipt for the tickets and giving that too me for Christmas.
I must say that everyone down at the place where you pay the tickets was pretty nice. Usually I have a problem with people who work in those places, it's not a fun job I'm sure. The lady at the window next to me just looked at me in horror as the machine kept printing all of these tickets off. I asked if I got anything for paying off this many tickets at once, they did get a laugh out of it. Not even a candy cane!
So now the city has their money and I am not worried about getting pulled over and hauled in when they find me.
Good luck, I just wanted to let you know how it turned out for me.
Merry Christmas and Congrats! It's a great feeling to get these kind of burdens off our shoulders. I'll be getting mine taken care of after Jan when I finish my upcoming big job, for me anyway. The job is right next door to me and the owner I know well, he'll make sure I have everything I need. If he wants the job done, that is ;)
I also expect to have enough to get a junker and pay 6 months insurance and maybe a beer. Maybe.~ WebTrooper ~
"But don't take my word for it. I was wrong once and it could happen again!"
Tickets in Chicago are insane. I did a study on this for a company that wanted to bid in Chicago for moving ticket payments online. (I told them the city was working this in to their own site, and eventually, they did.)
If it seems as if the Northsiders get more than their fair share of tickets, you would be correct. In talking to those officers and meter folks who give tickets, they tend to focus on zipcodes where they think people can afford to pay. That is why Parking Tickets are given out by the "Dept of Revenue." Nice eh?
They also love vehicles that they can identify as belonging to a business. Feel that the pressure is on for businesses to pay up.
About once in a blue moon, the city offers amnesty for folks with many unpaid tickets who haven't paid them in 10 years. They offer to clear your record for a percentage of tickets paid. But no one knows when or if this will ever happen ahead of time, it seems.
Best thing is to ask the customer to go online with their vehicle sticker number and get books of parking passes from their alderman. They only cost 20 cents each to the residents of each neighborhood code and come in the mail. (Or can be picked up at the alderman's office.) I always have some on hand for visitors and contractors when they drop by the house. Ask them as far in advance as you can, and even give them the Alderman's phone number or the website address. Some folks don't know that you can get these.
http://www.chicityclerk.com/residential_parking/
Sorry about your hassles. It truly is awful.