Sell a junk car in East Garfield Park

East Garfield Park is a straight shot from our base: south on Kedzie Avenue about a mile, and you’re on Madison Street in the middle of it. Most pickups here take only a few minutes of driving.

Boundaries and ZIP codes

The community area runs from the Union Pacific tracks near Kinzie and Carroll on the north to Arthington and Taylor Streets on the south, and from Rockwell Street on the east to Hamlin and Independence Boulevards on the west. Railroads form three of its four sides, which is why the area drew industry early.

Kedzie Avenue is also the ZIP line. Per the city’s ZIP boundary files, the blocks east of Kedzie are 60612 and the blocks west of it are 60624, split close to half and half. The Eisenhower Expressway runs east and west through the southern part.

West Garfield Park is across Hamlin to the west, Humboldt Park is north of the tracks, the Near West Side is to the east, and North Lawndale is to the south.

Getting here

From 2727 W Chicago Ave: west on Chicago Avenue to Kedzie, then about a mile south to Madison. The whole trip is around 1.8 road miles. For the southern blocks near Taylor Street, the Kedzie-Homan Blue Line station in the Eisenhower median is a good marker. Kedzie and California carry the north-south traffic; Madison, Washington, Jackson, Lake and Harrison carry east-west.

Landmarks drivers use

• Garfield Park and the Conservatory: the 184-acre park fills the northwest corner, and the Garfield Park Conservatory sits at 300 N Central Park Ave. The Park District manages nearly a fifth of the neighborhood’s land.
• Green Line stations on Lake Street: California, Kedzie and Conservatory-Central Park Drive.
• Metra Kedzie station: Union Pacific West Line at Kedzie and Carroll, three blocks north of the Green Line stop.
• Schools: Marshall Metropolitan High School on Adams Street and Manley High School on Polk Street.
• Madison and Kedzie: the historic shopping strip.

Housing and parking

About 28% of homes are in two-unit buildings and another quarter in three- and four-unit buildings, with a median year built of 1943 and nearly half built before 1940, per CMAP’s community snapshot. By 1900 the area already had brick cottages and two-flats alongside older frame buildings. Most households rent, and more than a third don’t own a car at all.

Alleys run behind most residential blocks, and some streets have permit parking, such as stretches of Monroe Street and Washington Boulevard. If the car is behind a two-flat, tell us whether it’s on a pad, in a garage or against the alley fence.

City rules for a car that won’t move

• Winter Overnight Parking Ban: Madison Street and Kedzie Avenue, 3 to 7 a.m. from December 1 to April 1. The city’s winter parking page sets the minimum at a $150 tow, a $60 ticket and $25 a day of storage, with tows going to Pound 6 at 701 N Sacramento or to Pound 2 on the far South Side.
• Two-inch snow routes: Madison, Washington, Jackson, Lake, Harrison, Kedzie and California all clear once 2 inches of snow falls.
• Street sweeping: by ward from April through November. East Garfield Park is mostly in the 28th Ward with parts of the 27th and 24th. One side of the street is swept on the first date, the other side on the second.
• Abandoned vehicles: a car unmoved for 7 days and apparently deserted, or left without state plates for two days, can be tagged under the city’s abandoned vehicle rules.

Selling it

A car that’s already booted or sitting at the pound needs to be released first; our booted car guide explains how that works. For everything else, start with non-running cars or, if it’s crash damage, wrecked and totaled cars.