Imaginary Landscape, LLC

Earlier this month, I wrote a post entitled, "Caught in the jaws of the absurd" about a ticket the company received from the Chicago Police for having an alarm system that sent a false alarm (we don't have an alarm system). The only recourse was to send an employee to court.

Here is the letter I wrote to the precinct commander:


April 8, 2009

Ms. Lucy Moy-Bartosik, Commander
Chicago Police Department
5400 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625

Dear Ms. Moy-Bartosik:

As a longstanding business in your precinct, I want to call your attention to an incident that happened at our business address on April 3rd.

Most of my staff had left but I was in the office finishing up some work. I heard the sound of an alarm going off in some other part of the building. After a few minutes the alarm stopped. I figured that it belonged to one of the two new businesses in the building.

At 6:30pm, I headed out and locked up. As I exited the building, I saw an Administrative Ticket stuck in the door handle. According to the ticket, it was written and left in the door 20 minutes prior.

It seems my company – Imaginary Landscape – has been cited for a false commercial alarm. I have no idea why the ticket was made out to Imaginary Landscape – perhaps it was because my company’s name appears first on the door. We do not now nor have we ever had an active alarm system. Had the officer taken a moment to ring the buzzer before issuing the ticket, I would have let him know.

I asked a staff member to call the appropriate department and let them know the issue does not involve Imaginary Landscape. However, it seems our only recourse is to go to court on this matter. Now, I must send someone downtown to sit in a courtroom and then inform a judge that we do not have an active alarm system.

We have been quietly doing business in this location for 9 years and this is a significant and unnecessary waste of time.

I would appreciate if you would let your staff know that we do not have an active alarm system. On behalf of all businesses, I would request that before issuing a ticket that requires a court appearance, that the Police verify the violating business to avoid inconveniencing incorrect businesses.

In the meantime, if you or any of your staff needs assistance with anything related to this building or the surrounding area, please drop by. We are often here and always have a pot of coffee on for Chicago’s Finest.

Sincerely,


Brian J. Moloney
Managing Partner

I had every expectation that this letter would be ignored. I was wrong.

Last Friday a Sergeant from the precinct dropped by the office. The officer was apologetic, explained the circumstances that led to the ticket and, on behalf of the Police Department, took responsibility for the mistake.

Unfortunately, he said that once the ticket is in the system, it can not be diverted from its final destination - a court room. So we must still dispatch a staffer to court.

He offered to write a letter to accompany the staffer. In this letter, he would presumably say something to the effect of "whoops."

So, it is still absurd that we have to go to court, but the sting has lessened. It's hard to maintain a head of steam when someone comes to you and raises his hand saying, "My bad. Sorry." Well, at least in the case of the government, where my expectations are so low going in, that I am filled with shock and awe that they would actually send someone to my door to apologize.

Still, it would be nice not to send someone to court. Nonetheless, it was a smart move by Commander Moy-Bartosik and I appreciate it.