Chicago City Clerk Susana A. Mendoza formally introduced on Monday a new sales system for the residential permit parking program with the goal of saving City residents as many as 30,000 annual in-person visits to sales locations.
Under the new permit program, records from the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State are now matched to individuals who reside in a residential permit parking zone. For the first time ever, with a valid, up-to-date Illinois Driver’s License, residents can buy online using their Driver’s License number instead of having to validate residency in-person as in previous years.
Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza said her partnership with Secretary of State Jesse White, smart polices and the application of new technology has resulted in a much improved customer service experience.
“Essentially, we’ve created personal accounts for everyone who parks in a residential zone. If your Driver’s License information is up to date, you’ll be able to buy Daily Residential Parking Permits for your friends and family while wearing pajamas in your living room,” she said. “I promised to bring the Office of the City Clerk into the modern era and we are keeping that promise.”
More than 170,000 motorists as well as all residents living in more than 2,000 residential parking zones across the City are eligible to purchase Residential Parking Permits. With the holidays coming, the Office of the Clerk anticipates a big uptick in permit purchases.
Residents not in the Illinois Secretary of State’s system will still be eligible to purchase online and avoid in-person visits. They will only need to establish their eligibility to purchase by sending evidentiary documents, such as a lease, to a City Clerk email address.
A unique customer code provides for the easy online purchase of Daily Residential Parking permits. The customer code allows residents to purchase permits each month using this code rather than resubmitting their personal information prior to each transaction.
As part of ongoing initiatives to reduce fraud, people who chronically abuse the program can now be disqualified from future purchases of Daily Residential Parking Permits.
The new program also marks another step toward the biggest change in the Office of the City Clerk in more than 100 years: Year-Round Sales. Year-Round Sales, which begins in spring 2014, will dramatically reduce the long lines and headaches that are the hallmark of the compressed, seasonal sales season. To learn more about Year-Round Sales or the new Residential Permit Parking Program, please visit www.ChiCityClerk.com or call 312-744-7404.