Tribune:
Mayor Richard Daley on Wednesday defended his decision to solicit private collection agencies to go after City Hall's debtors, noting the difficulty of persuading many scofflaws to pay the city what they owe.
The Tribune reported Wednesday that the cash-strapped Daley administration is seeking bids from collection agencies that would then get a percentage of whatever they collect from people with unpaid parking tickets, water bills and other debts. "People refuse to pay," Daley said. "Yeah, they do that. They want to waive the interest. It's hard, to be very frank. Some went bankrupt, some you can't find, some just refuse to pay."
According to bid documents, however, the city sends out letters to debtors itself or hires law firms to try to recover what is owed.
The city uses a private company to bill for emergency services such as ambulance rides. That company in turn hires another firm, a local collection agency, to deal with overdue bills.
And now the Alderman's comments:
Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th) said it is better for the city to hire law firms than collection agencies. "Law firms have a lot more at stake to ensure that they are being professional in what they are doing," said Lyle, who is an attorney. "They have law licenses in the balance."
She said she often hears from constituents complaining about debt collectors who call at odd hours and are "misrepresenting things."
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