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The Chicagoans tow company has enjoyed hating for decades if its license was abruptly pulled Wednesday by the state trade commission.
Lincoln Towing was immortalized in Steve Goodman's "Lincoln Park Pirates" folk song in 1972 that parodied his permanence with the line "there is no car too heavy and no one can make us close".
The Illinois Commerce Commission did it in a 5-0 vote to revoke the Lincoln Towing relocation license, effective immediately.
President Brien Sheahan told the meeting Wednesday that "the preponderance of … evidence" shows that Lincoln Towing "did not conduct its business with honesty and integrity, [and] that it is indeed unworthy to be entitled to hold a license for commercial vehicle movers, "according to remarks prepared by the ICC.
The action was the culmination of a two-year investigation that began in 2016, said Victoria Crawford, spokeswoman for the ICC. The investigation involved allegations of 462 unauthorized traits and 369 instances where the company used an unlicensed operator over an eight-month period between 2015 and 2016.
"It's a win for Chicago residents and visitors who have been towed badly," Crawford said.
Still, Allen Perl, a lawyer representing Lincoln Towing, told The Sun-Times that Lincoln Towing was planning to fight the decision – and said the company had to continue operating while the case went through the appeal process .
"Lincoln Towing will file the appropriate petition for a re-hearing at the Trade Commission. If that fails, we will go to [Cook County] Circuit Court, "said Perl. "We believe that we will be allowed to remain open during the appeal process."
Crawford was not in agreement. The order became official at 3:04 p.m. when Lincoln Towing was served electronically with a notice of revocation of license, she said.
"Any vehicle seized after this time would be considered illegal towing," Crawford said. "… From our point of view, it's an immediate revocation."
The company has offices at 4882 N. Clark St. and 4601 W. Armitage Ave. The location of Clark Street is in the Ald district. Ameya Pawar (47th). Lincoln Towing's long-time critic celebrated the decision to revoke his license on Twitter a few moments after the decision:
"We are all the little guy in this story. And today, the little guy has won, "Pawar tweeted on Wednesday, thanking Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30th) to be joined in his efforts to repel the tow company.
Contributor: Mitchell Armentrout, Alexandra Arriaga
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