When you work in the news business, you learn that no address is permanent.
Nearly 17 years ago, I was a resident of Chicago, Illinois, working as the Airborne Traffic Reporter for WBBM-News Radio 78, and apparently, parking illegally.
Last week, I got a letter from a collections agency for two unpaid parking tickets totaling $134.20. The letter, attempting to collect on a 17-year-old citation, prompted me to ask locally about parking tickets. Is there a statute of limitations on parking tickets?
Teresa Del Rio, Director of the Pinellas County Court and Operational Services Division, says yes. After two years, if a citation is unpaid it is dismissed and any warrants for the offender are withdrawn.
That is not going to be the case much longer. By the end of the year, Pinellas County is expected to join other communities who send outstanding tickets to collections.
In my case, I called the state of Illinois to check the validity of the agency's claims. The State has no record of me or any outstanding violations. Florida has reciprocal agreements with 18 states. Had Illinois reported me delinquent, my driving privileges in Florida would have been revoked. The City of Chicago does not have the same agreement, so Florida was never informed.
If you're wondering what I did about my two 17 year old tickets, of course, I paid them.