03-29-2009, 08:07 PM
I just read the ordinance and it is rather vague on what constitutes a 2 inch snowfall. The ordinance does not mention specific locations but just says "after a snowfall of two or more inches has occurred". Hopefully that would be somewhere in Waukegan and not Northern Minnesota. Laws have to be written so it is understandable to the reader what specifically is being prohibited. This ordinance is lacking in it's ability to do that. So really the writer of the ordinance and those who passed it without analyizing or questioning it are really the true source of the ignoranace. Anyone who has lived in this area knows it can snow a half inch on the Southeast part of Waukegan and 3 inches on the Northwest part of Waukegan or visa-versa. So if it snows 3" on "The Dicks" street up near Wadsworth and it only snows 1/2 inch on South MLK does that mean the police can issue valid tickets for snow route violations on South MLK? Of course that would be absurd and illogical. So, even though it is not specifically stated, the ordinance must be taken to actually mean 2 inches or more in the EXACT area where the violation occurs. If Joe measures 1-1/2 inches then the ticket should be invalid and the cop was wrong to issue a ticket.
But the general absurdity of this ordinance goes much further. It makes a violation of parking on a snow route when a snowfall of 2 or more inches occurs between midnight and 6am. So if there is an unpredicted surprise snowfall (which we all know can happen here) after I go to sleep at 10pm, tough luck for me. And to make matters even worse the ordinance mandates that the vehicle be towed and impounded immediately. I'd say those who wrote and passed this ill-conceived piece of garbage are the ignorant ones. Not all laws are good laws... escepially when they are created by the incompetent non-thinkers here in Waukegan.
But the general absurdity of this ordinance goes much further. It makes a violation of parking on a snow route when a snowfall of 2 or more inches occurs between midnight and 6am. So if there is an unpredicted surprise snowfall (which we all know can happen here) after I go to sleep at 10pm, tough luck for me. And to make matters even worse the ordinance mandates that the vehicle be towed and impounded immediately. I'd say those who wrote and passed this ill-conceived piece of garbage are the ignorant ones. Not all laws are good laws... escepially when they are created by the incompetent non-thinkers here in Waukegan.