World record parking fine? Chicago woman ordered to pay $105K in tickets

(CBS) CHICAGO - Parking fines of $105,000 could definitely put a crimp in your holiday shopping plans.

That's how much the city of Chicago contends Jennifer Fitzgerald owes in back tickets - but she claims the car in question was falsely registered in her name, and she's going to court to fight city hall, CBS Chicago reports.

The story begins four years ago - Fitzgerald, an unemployed single mother, says that's when her former boyfriend bought a used car from her uncle for $600.

She tells CBS Chicago that he registered it in her name without her knowledge, and then three years ago, abandoned it in a parking lot at O'Hare Airport.

Since then, the car has racked up nearly 700 parking tickets, amounting to over $105,000.

According to TheExpiredMeter.com, that's not just a city record, but could be a world record.

In a lawsuit filed by an attorney who's taking her case for free, Fitzgerald says the city violated its own policy by not impounding the car three years ago and instead, continuing to ticket it over and over again.

Due to the mammoth backlog in tickets, Fitzgerald's driver's license has been suspended.

The case of the $105,000 parking fine is due to go to court next spring.