Lockport’s street clock is short
Some towns give a parked car two or three days. Lockport gives it one. Section 70.21 bars parking or storing any vehicle on a public street, alley or public way for more than 24 consecutive hours, and § 70.22 clears every curbed street from 3:00 to 6:00 a.m.
Snow tightens it again. Under § 70.27, street parking ends when snow starts falling and stays off until 8 hours after it stops, or until removal is finished once more than 2 inches has fallen. Any car on a street, parkway or sidewalk also has to show current state registration (§ 70.29). Near Lockport Township East High School there’s a permit-only zone from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. on school days.
Put together, a dead car has nowhere to wait at the curb.
On your own property
Off the street, § 93.140 requires owners and occupants to keep outdoor premises free of inoperative and abandoned vehicles. Chapter 71 calls a car inoperable after a week or more with parts removed, altered or damaged so that it won’t run. Cars kept inside a building, historic vehicles over 25 years old and wrecking businesses are excluded.
Before a tow, the city mails or delivers a pre-tow notice and puts a sticker on the vehicle. You then have 7 days to ask for a hearing in writing. If the car sits on a business lot, the zoning code allows open storage of inoperable or awaiting-repair vehicles for one month, extendable for hardship.
Pickup across town
Lockport grew up along the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and State Street (IL-171) and 9th Street (IL-7) are among its designated truck routes. Toll ramps on I-355 at 159th Street and Archer Avenue serve the east side. About two thirds of homes are detached houses and close to a fifth are townhouses, so tell us whether yours is in a driveway, a garage or a townhouse lot.
Tell us which papers you can find, from the title and registration to an old bill of sale and your ID. We’ll compare what you have against Illinois scrap-sale requirements on the call, so there are no surprises when the driver arrives. Want a written record of the deal? See our Illinois bill of sale guide. Towing costs you nothing; we pay you when the car is loaded.
Nearby, we buy in Romeoville, Homer Glen and Lemont; see all locations we cover.
Selling a car in Lockport: common questions
Can my non-running car stay parked on the street in Lockport?
Not for long. Section 70.21 caps parking or storing any vehicle on a public street, alley or public way at 24 consecutive hours, and § 70.22 bans parking on curbed streets from 3:00 to 6:00 a.m. Snow brings a separate ban under § 70.27.
What if Lockport puts a pre-tow sticker on my car?
Under § 71.03 and § 71.04 the owner gets the notice by mail or delivery plus the sticker, and has 7 days to request a hearing in writing. If you'd rather sell than contest it, call us as soon as you see the sticker and we'll set up pickup.
The car is at my business, not my house. Is the rule different?
Somewhat. Lockport's zoning code (§ 156.092) limits open storage of inoperable vehicles, or vehicles awaiting repair, in nonresidential parking areas to 1 month, with hardship extensions from the Zoning Administrator. We pick up from business lots too.