Chicago receives thousands of calls about ‘dibs’ after snowstorms — in some neighborhoods more than others
Residents are split on this Chicago winter tradition that some believe was first popularized after the great blizzard of 1967.
By Alden Loury
Chicago receives thousands of calls about ‘dibs’ after snowstorms — in some neighborhoods more than others
Residents are split on this Chicago winter tradition that some believe was first popularized after the great blizzard of 1967.
By Alden LouryThe arrival of Chicago’s first major snowstorm of the winter also means the return of one of the city’s longest-running debates: to dibs or not to dibs.
It’s an age-old question that confronts Chicagoans after every significant snowstorm. After braving the elements and shoveling your car out of several inches of snow, do you leave something — a chair, an old appliance, a garbage can, actual trash, or a range of other objects for the truly creative — to claim your parking spot?
Residents are split on this Chicago winter tradition that some believe was first popularized after the great blizzard of 1967. That split can be seen in neighborhood level data, which shows that hundreds complain to the city about dibs objects in some communities and no one complains about them in others. Dibs is a tradition that even some Chicago mayors have strongly encouraged over the decades.
However, as far as the city’s concerned, there is no debate. One of the city’s oldest laws — section 10-28-070 of the Chicago Municipal Code — actually prohibits the practice. And the city officially encourages residents to remove any dibs objects they’ve left behind to claim shoveled-out parking spaces. The city also advises residents to call 311 to report the objects.
The debate is captured each winter through thousands of those 311 calls. In all, there have been more than 12,000 such requests since January 2019, the earliest month for which data was available.
But Chicago winters have been on the mild side of late. Snowfall totals have been below average the past couple of years. As a result, those 311 calls to remove dibs objects were down a bit last winter compared to the previous two winters.
From December 2022 through March 2023, there were just 724 dibs removal calls, compared with 6,030 from December 2021 through March 2022 and 4,587 from December 2020 through March 2021.
The calls typically pour in following stretches of major snowfall.
In 2021, from Jan. 26 to Feb. 26, a whopping 37.7 inches of snow — nearly twice the amount that Chicago got during the entire winter in 2022-2023 — fell on the city. The city was flooded with more than 4,000 calls to remove dibs objects during that stretch. And in 2022, from Jan. 23 to Feb. 17, winter dropped nearly 19 inches of snow on Chicago. During that time, there were nearly 4,800 calls to remove dibs objects.
The calls have come in from almost every community area in the city. But the debate appears to rage on in some communities more than others. There are a couple of communities where there have been no calls — perhaps a sign that just about everyone abides by the dibs tradition. In other communities, there have been hundreds of requests to remove dibs objects.
Here’s a map displaying the number of 311 calls to remove dibs objects per 10,000 residents for each Chicago community area.
A word of caution, however, especially for those who are new to the city. Not only is it a Chicago tradition to claim shoveled-out parking spaces, for some, it’s also a tradition to exact revenge upon those who violate dibs. The results have included threats, slashed tires and even physical confrontations.
Alden Loury is the data projects editor for WBEZ. Follow him at @AldenLoury.