Hundreds of people woke up Monday morning to find their cars weren't where they left them.
Despite the absence of snow, Chicago's annual winter overnight parking ban started at 3 a.m., and it appeared more than 200 drivers either forgot about it or ignored the warnings.
City officials said a total of 239 cars were towed because they were parked along the 107 miles of arterial streets between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. The number is coincidentally the same number of vehicles that were towed on the first day of last year's ban, but down from the 301 vehicles towed in 2012.
This season's parking ban is in effect daily from Dec. 1, 2014 through April 1, 2015.
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Cars parked in violation of the overnight ban prevent routes from being fully plowed and salted when it snows.
The city began posting fliers on cars on restricted streets more than a week ago as a reminder.
Violators towed face a minimum $150 towing fee, a $60 ticket and a storage fee of $20 per day. Vehicles will be towed to Pounds 2 or 6, at 103011 S. Doty Ave. or 6 or 701 N. Sacramento.
