In Feb. of 2008 Mrs. Gargoyle and I drove downtown to have dinner with some FT'ers. I hit a deep pothole and ripped my tire. I filled a claim with the city, including multiple photos of the pothole and the tire. (repair costs were $178.00).

This week, 29 months later, I received a response from the city finance director. The city council denied my claim, because "the Department of Transportation, Division of In-house Construction, Asphalt Maintenance forces did not work at the above location on or near the date and time in question."

In other words, since they didn't repair the pothole, it must not have existed (despite my photos) and therefore they aren't responsible for my flat tire.

By the way, on the claim form I located the pothole on Ontario between Wabash and Rush. My photos showed the precise location, and someone from the City checked it out and amended my form to state it was at the exact address of 50 E. Ontario. They actually spent time studying my claim.
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Of course, I'm not surprised they denied it, I'm only surprised that they bothered to address my claim after 29 months.

You must have nothing better to do than file frivolous complaints. Why not just stop at Holy Name Cathedral and file a claim against God for creating conditions causing pot-holes?

The city has a procedure for pothole claims, with downloadable forms on their website. It's been a city policy for decades. The repair service told me that some of their clients had been paid.

So, nothing frivolous about asking them to reimburse my $178 when it is due to the ages old city tradition of poor quality road repairs. (cross the line from almost any suburb into the city in the winter and roads go from smooth to moon-surface). There is no excuse for 14" long, 5" deep potholes in the middle of busy downtown streets.

Totally agree. But this is Chicago, and such things are the norm. Every time I drive to my boyfriend's house I have to remember to slow to a crawl on his block - there's a point in the street where the road has subsided into probably a 8" deep V. If you go more than 10mph, the front of the car chassis makes a most disagreeable noise when it hits the pavement.

They're not saying the pothole didn't exist - they are saying that since the City did not cause it (blame Mother Nature), or make it worse (since they didn't touch it), the City is not liable. A crazy rule, but there you go, and I have no idea whether that's correct under Illinois law. Of course, if you had submitted the claim through your alderman's office, it probably would have been paid within the week - THAT's the Chicago way...

I have still not heard back regarding my pothole claim from around the same time as yours (early 2008)

Back while still in college I ran my Fiat X1/9 through a deep pot hole at night in the rain. I had no way of knowing it was there. I busted both right side rims and tires and tore up my front end and suspension. Over $1,500 worth of damage in a friggin pot hole.

When I contacted the local muncipality about it, I was just SOL on it. Because the car was a bit older, I no longer had collision on it so I was out of pocket the full repair amount.

The only good thing about it was that a police officer came by shortly after it happened and took me home. I left the car to deal with the next morning. When I got home my dad asked who brought me home . . . and then of course, why a cop. When I started to tell my woeful story, he said "Oh I saw an 18-wheeler there but busted an axle in the hole."

Not good!

Sorry to hear you are stuck with the $170+ repair bill. Consider yourself fortunate it wasn't more.

(p.s. my incident was in NoVA - Fairfax County)