The Jack-Booted Thug(s) of the Week...

... are the members of the Tinley Park, Illinois Police Department who participated in a sweet little scam the town had going on, in which every car parked in the village limits that didn't have a residential sticker was ticketed:

"Mayor Zabrocki calls it a little embarrassing - and a little humorous."

We're not amused.

You see, Tinley Park Ordinance 73.15 "allows Tinley Park cops to ticket any vehicle without a municipal sticker - even if the vehicle is from outside the village. If a vehicle is from out of town and doesn't have a sticker, it generally is assumed by police the owner is out of compliance because, well, all communities must require stickers." (All emphases mine)

Except for the fact that most communities, including every place we've ever lived, has no such requirement.

It's glaringly apparent that the law (passed in the 1970s) was meant to apply only to people who actually live in the town and who are not just visiting, passing through or shopping there, but the cops nonetheless have apparently been taking advantage of this little gem to write a whole bunch of $25 tickets to visiting motorists, even going so far as to ticket cars that are obviously from out of state.

"Last Thursday evening, Tom and Jenny Schubert went to Texas Roadhouse, a restaurant on LaGrange Road in Tinley Park. Next to the Interstate 80 interchange, sharing a parking lot with a hotel, the restaurant looks to be the type of place where customers from throughout the country stop to eat.

After dinner, the Schuberts, of Channahon, ventured out for some shopping.

But their last course - a $25 ticket from Tinley Park police for not having a village sticker displayed on their windshield - didn't go down too well.

The Schuberts figured there was a misunderstanding. They don't live in Tinley Park. And Channahon doesn't require residents to buy the annoying stickers for their cars.

They called the police department.

But there was no mistake.

They were told the ticket was good. If they didn't like it, they could come to the police station and file paperwork requesting that the ticket be revoked.

'I was like, 'What?!' Why do I have to waste my time to drive to your police department and fill this out," Jenny Schubert said. 'I didn't do anything wrong. I considered it harassment, but the officer at the station told me they do it all the time.'"

The driving force for this overzealous enforcement seems to be revenue generation for the village's coffers, naturally:

"The stickers, in all suburbs, are a hassle for residents, but they mean big money for local governments."

But not big money for the businesses there, and they are apparently getting a little tired of having their valued visiting customers picked on in such a blatant and unfair manner.

Ironically, here's part of the welcome message from Boss Hogg Mayor Ed Zabrocki, straight from the town's Web site:

"Our excellent location at the intersection of Interstate 80 and Harlem Avenue, just a 35-minute drive or short train ride from downtown Chicago, has attracted continuing prime business and hospitality industry development."

Yep, you're really showing some great "hospitality" there, Mayor.

Now that they've been caught red-handed in their little Hazzard County-like scheme, the cops and town fathers there are protesting that the department technically did nothing wrong, and conveniently blame the entire situation on an unfortunate bureaucratic mix-up:

"Tinley Park Police Commander Rick Bruno says no more tickets will be written to out-of-towners, and he says - 'I realize I did not give my patrol officers enough direction.'"

Sure you didn't, Commander, sure you didn't.

Despite the weasel-like excuses attempting to defend their outrageous behavior, the town burghers are now expected to discuss repealing the ordinance at the next board meeting, according to the story.

This sort of behavior really doesn't surprise us, given how close the town is to the nearby utter cesspool that is Chicago. We hope that this situation has taught them a much-needed lesson about customer service, although we're not soon going to pay them a visit to confirm that theory.