As crime in Chicago becomes a point of debate across the country, there's a new call for city leaders to take something off police officers' plates.
It's probably not surprising that the city that made "dibs" a thing in the winter takes its parking seriously.
Right now, Chicagoans with complaints about people parking illegally in bike lanes, handicapped spots and in front of driveways are directed to call 9-1-1 and send police to the scene.
And the latest numbers suggest Chicagoans call a lot.
"In 2024 alone, we had nearly 100,000 calls for parking violations," said 19th District police council member Maurilio Garcia during a City Council committee hearing on Wednesday.
He joined colleagues from two police district councils to ask aldermen to approve a test program that would direct parking violation calls to civilian city workers rather than sworn police officer.
Nineteenth District Council member Jenny Schaffer added that police command staff have raised concerns about having enough officers to handle the volume of parking complaints: "There are not enough officers to staff all the beats."
Garcia said the test, if approved, could go a long way toward freeing up officers to go where they're needed most, "and to build trust with our communities."
There's no word on when alders might vote on the parking test.