625 ILCS 5/4-203.5

(625 ILCS 5/4-203.5)

Sec. 4-203.5. Tow rotation list.

(a) Each law enforcement agency whose duties include the patrol of highways in this State shall maintain a tow rotation list which shall be used by law enforcement officers authorizing the tow of a vehicle within the jurisdiction of the law enforcement agency. To ensure adequate response time, a law enforcement agency may maintain multiple tow rotation lists, with each tow rotation list covering tows authorized in different geographic locations within the jurisdiction of the law enforcement agency. A towing service may be included on more than one tow rotation list.

(b) Any towing service operating within the jurisdiction of a law enforcement agency may submit an application in a form and manner prescribed by the law enforcement agency for inclusion on the law enforcement agency's tow rotation list. The towing service does not need to be located within the jurisdiction of the law enforcement agency. To be included on a tow rotation list the towing service must meet the following requirements:

(1) possess a license permitting the towing service to operate in every unit of local government in the law enforcement agency's jurisdiction that requires a license for the operation of a towing service;

(2) if required by the law enforcement agency for inclusion on that law enforcement agency's tow rotation list, each owner of the towing service and each person operating a vehicle on behalf of the towing service shall submit his or her fingerprints to the Illinois State Police in the form and manner prescribed by the Illinois State Police. These fingerprints should be transmitted through a live scan fingerprint vendor licensed by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. These fingerprints shall be checked against the fingerprint records now and hereafter filed in the Illinois State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history records databases. The Illinois State Police shall charge a fee for conducting the criminal history record check, which shall be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the actual cost of the State and national criminal history record check. The Illinois State Police shall furnish, pursuant to positive identification, all Illinois conviction information to the law enforcement agency maintaining the tow rotation list and shall forward the national criminal history record information to the law enforcement agency maintaining the tow rotation list. A person may not own a towing service or operate a vehicle on behalf of a towing service included on a tow rotation list if that person has been convicted during the 5 years preceding the application of a criminal offense involving one or more of the following:

(A) bodily injury or attempt to inflict bodily injury to another person;

(B) theft of property or attempted theft of property; or

(C) sexual assault or attempted sexual assault of any kind;

(3) each person operating a vehicle on behalf of the towing service must be classified for the type of towing operation he or she shall be performing and the vehicle he or she shall be operating;

(4) possess and maintain the following insurance in addition to any other insurance required by law:

(A) comprehensive automobile liability insurance with a minimum combined single limit coverage of $1,000,000;

(B) commercial general liability insurance with limits of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence, $100,000 minimum garage keepers legal liability insurance, and $100,000 minimum on-hook coverage or cargo insurance; and

(C) a worker's compensation policy covering every person operating a tow truck on behalf of the towing service, if required under current law;

(5) possess a secure parking lot used for short-term vehicle storage after a vehicle is towed that is open during business hours and is equipped with security features as required by the law enforcement agency;

(6) utilize only vehicles that possess a valid vehicle registration, display a valid Illinois license plate in accordance with Section 5-202 of this Code, and comply with the weight requirements of this Code;

(7) every person operating a towing or recovery vehicle on behalf of the towing service must have completed a Traffic Incident Management Training Program approved by the Department of Transportation;

(8) hold a valid authority issued to it by the Illinois Commerce Commission;

(9) comply with all other applicable federal, State, and local laws; and

(10) comply with any additional requirements the applicable law enforcement agency deems necessary.

The law enforcement agency may select which towing services meeting the requirements of this subsection (b) shall be included on a tow rotation list. The law enforcement agency may choose to have only one towing service on its tow rotation list. Complaints regarding the process for inclusion on a tow rotation list or the use of a tow rotation list may be referred in writing to the head of the law enforcement agency administering that tow rotation list. The head of the law enforcement agency shall make the final determination as to which qualified towing services shall be included on a tow rotation list, and shall not be held liable for the exclusion of any towing service from a tow rotation list.

(c) Whenever a law enforcement officer initiates a tow of a vehicle, the officer shall contact his or her law enforcement agency and inform the agency that a tow has been authorized. The law enforcement agency shall then select a towing service from the law enforcement agency's tow rotation list corresponding to the geographical area where the tow was authorized, and shall contact that towing service directly by phone, computer, or similar means. Towing services shall be contacted in the order listed on the appropriate tow rotation list, at which point the towing service shall be placed at the end of that tow rotation list. In the event a listed towing service is not available, the next listed towing service on that tow rotation list shall be contacted.

(d) A law enforcement agency may deviate from the order listed on a tow rotation list if the towing service next on that tow rotation list is, in the judgment of the authorizing officer or the law enforcement agency making the selection, incapable of or not properly equipped for handling a specific task related to the tow that requires special skills or equipment. A deviation from the order listed on the tow rotation list for this reason shall not cause a loss of rotation turn by the towing service determined to be incapable or not properly equipped for handling the request.

(e) In the event of an emergency a law enforcement officer or agency, taking into account the safety and location of the situation, may deviate from the order of the tow rotation list and obtain towing service from any source deemed appropriate.

(f) If the owner or operator of a disabled vehicle is present at the scene of the disabled vehicle, is not under arrest, and does not abandon his or her vehicle, and in the law enforcement officer's opinion the disabled vehicle is not impeding or obstructing traffic, illegally parked, or posing a security or safety risk, the law enforcement officer shall allow the owner of the vehicle to specify a towing service to relocate the disabled vehicle. If the owner chooses not to specify a towing service, the law enforcement agency shall select a towing service for the vehicle as provided in subsection (c) of this Section.

(g) If a tow operator is present or arrives where a tow is needed and it has not been requested by the law enforcement agency or the owner or operator, the law enforcement officer, unless acting under Section 11-1431 of this Code, shall advise the tow operator to leave the scene.

(h) (Blank).

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-759, eff. 1-1-23.)