Buy your city sticker online, win a prize
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com May 22, 2012 5:14PM
Updated: May 22, 2012 6:42PM
City Clerk Susana Mendoza is hoping the lure of free restaurant meals, baseball tickets and other prizes will convince Chicago motorists to purchase their city vehicle stickers online to save her office time and money.
Last year, Mendoza offered, “Lunch with the Clerk” to 10 motorists who purchased city stickers online along with their invited guests. The lunch was donated by E.A.T.T. Restaurant, which is owned by the Rosebud chain.
Still, only 200,000 of the 1.3 million city stickers sold last year were purchased online. This year, sticker sales started four weeks earlier than normal, but only 103,000 stickers have been sold online.
Now, Mendoza is upping the ante with help from a closet-full of prizes donated by local businesses.
Motorists who purchase their stickers on the Internet and choose to enter the contest will be eligible for: a two-night stay at the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza; a $100 gift certificate to Petterino’s Restaurant and two tickets to the Goodman Theater production of Crowns; a $100 gift certificate to Rockit Bar and Grill; a $50 gift certificate to Dick’s Last Resort and two tickets to a Shoreline Architecture Cruise and two tickets to a Chicago Fire soccer game. Other prizes include a “behind-the-scenes” tour of City Hall, followed by lunch with five winners at Rosebud; a $100 gift certificate at Shambles Bar and Grill; two tickets to the Cubs vs. Colorado Rockies; four tickets to a White Sox game in August along with an “autographed team item” and a miniature replica of a Bears helmet signed by defensive end Julius Peppers.
Kristine Williams, a spokesperson for Mendoza, said the clerk is hoping the lure of prizes will entice motorists to purchase their stickers online by the July 15 deadline.
“When people mail in their sticker order, it takes a long time to process. It could take a few weeks at least. If they order online, it’s very fast. We’re mailing them within three or four days,” she said.
After an increase tied to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s first budget, stickers now cost $85 for small passenger vehicles, $135 for large ones, $200 for trucks and $30 for senior citizens.
Annual residential parking stickers cost $25 for residents of designated zones.
