For Holidays, Hanover Park Police Will Trade Parking Fines For Canned Goods
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A northwest suburban village will be losing revenue from parking fines, but its food pantry expects to gain hundreds of cans of food.
Try parking on the streets of Hanover Park between 2 and 6 in the morning, and you'll probably get a parking ticket for $50.
The good news is, if you get that ticket - or almost any other parking ticket between Dec. 17 and the end of the year - you can have the fine waived if you bring 10 cans of food to the Hanover Park Police Department.
"We could have hundreds or even - dare I say - thousands of items. We're kind of excited to see how it's going to end up," said Deputy Police Chief Andy Johnson.
To waive the fine, canned food donations have to be made within 10 days of when the parking ticket was issued.
Johnson said, if you get two parking tickets during those two weeks from the 17th to the 31st, you can bring in 20 cans of food to have both fines waived.
"Some of the comments that we've gotten are 'Hey, can I drop off food anyway? This is a great idea, but if I don't get a parking ticket, can I still donate?' And the answer is, absolutely, yes," Johnson said.
Donations will be accepted at the front desk of the Hanover Park Police Department, 2121 W. Lake St., 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and will be given to the Hanover Township Food Pantry.