Cash for junk cars in Chicago Heights

Chicago Heights is the furthest west and south we go, and the city’s nickname tells you why the drive is easy: the Crossroads of the Nation, where Dixie Highway (IL 1) meets Lincoln Highway (US 30). From Harding Avenue we take Sibley Boulevard to the Bishop Ford, the Calumet Expressway (IL 394) down to US 30, then Lincoln Highway west into town. It is about 13 miles, roughly 23 minutes. Chicago Heights is the last entry on our locations list.

Chicago Heights basics

Chicago Heights became a village in 1892 and a city in 1900. It has about 27,500 people (2020 Census) on 10.4 square miles in Bloom Township, and two ZIP codes, 60411 and 60412. It was founded as an industrial suburb, home over the years to Inland Steel, Owens-Illinois Glass and Ludowici Roof Tile, and the Ford stamping plant on Lincoln Highway sends panels north to the Chicago Assembly plant in Hegewisch. Locals call it “Da Heights.”

The city sits on the Tinley Moraine, with the Valparaiso Moraine just south. It touches Homewood, Glenwood, Flossmoor, Olympia Fields, Ford Heights, Park Forest, Sauk Village, South Chicago Heights and, to the northeast, Lynwood.

Roads a tow driver knows here

• Lincoln Highway (US 30) goes by 14th Street inside the city.
• IL 1 enters from South Chicago Heights as Chicago Road, crosses 14th Street, and then bends northwest on the “Route 1 Cutoff” toward Halsted. Dixie Highway peels off Chicago Road just above Lincoln Highway and heads up to Flossmoor and Homewood.
• The city code also names a dozen arterial streets, among them Ashland, Western, Halsted, 26th Street and Joe Orr Road. Those matter in snow (below).

The city has had no commuter rail since the 1930s; Metra’s SouthEast Service is still only planned. Six Pace routes meet at the Chicago Heights Terminal, which many people use as a landmark.

Homes and lots

ACS 2020-2024 estimates put about 72% of homes in single-unit buildings; most of the rest are two- to four-flats. Roughly 63% of households own. The 2020 Census found 13% of units empty, so if the car is beside a vacant building, tell us which one.

If your building shares a driveway or a back lot, give the neighbors or the owner a heads-up before the tow.

The 48-hour rule and other city rules

Chicago Heights moves fast on dead cars. In Article XX of Chapter 28:

• What counts (section 28-432): a car that has had its engine, wheels or other parts out or broken for 30 days or longer, so it can’t run. Cars stored in a building, historic vehicles over 25 years and wrecking yards are left out.
• Never on the street (section 28-434): a junked or broken-down car can’t sit on a street, sidewalk or parkway at all.
• Two days anywhere else (section 28-435): on any property, the limit is 48 hours, unless the car is indoors or at a lawful business.
• Then notice and impound (sections 28-436, 28-437): the city can order the owner to get rid of it in writing, and police can impound cars that break the article.

On the street itself:

• Police can remove a car left unattended on a highway for a day or more (section 28-347(b)).
• The chief can post streets where parking more than an hour from 2 to 5 a.m. is banned (section 28-344).
• A street isn’t a place to sell or fix a car, except in an emergency (section 28-345).
• Alleys must keep 10 feet open (section 28-343).
• On the named arterials, more than an inch of snow means no parking from the first flakes until 8 hours after the snow ends, and the city tows at your cost (sections 28-365, 28-366).

To see how the 48-hour limit compares with nearby villages, read our inoperable vehicle rules article.

About stickers

The city’s vehicle license division (sections 28-58 to 28-65) now reads “Reserved,” with an editor’s note pointing to a 2017 ordinance. One fine schedule still lists a charge for an undisplayed city license, which looks like leftover text. We found no current sticker requirement in Chapter 28.

Wrecks, failed tests and work trucks

If the car was in a crash the insurer won’t fix, see wrecked and totaled cars. If it keeps failing emissions, our emissions article explains the retest and waiver rules for Cook County cars. Pickup trucks and vans are welcome too; see junk trucks, vans and SUVs.

Nearby areas

East on Lincoln Highway, Ford Heights is the next village. Glenwood borders the city to the northeast, and Sauk Village to the southeast.