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You just spent two to three hours of your precious weekend shoveling clear a parking space for your car. On Monday morning, before you head off to work, you scramble to place your “dibs” in your spot. Be it a plastic lawn chair, garbage can, or child’s toy, it could mean the difference between losing that coveted space to your lazy neighbor. After all, this is Chicago, and the fight over parking can get pretty cutthroat.
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The phenomenon of “dibs” in Chicago refers to the practice of using lawn chairs, boxes, and other items to claim a freshly-cleared parking space. After all, you’re not doing that shoveling for your health.
Although the practice is technically illegal in the city, hardly anyone follows the ordinance that forbids it. Even traffic enforcement understands that there’s nothing worse than coming home from the store to find another car parked in YOUR spot — the one you worked so hard to shovel.
The Chicago Dibs t-shirt pays homage to the common practice in the city.The practice is so important that mayoral candidates are often quizzed about their opinion on “dibs.” There’s even a tumblr dedicated to all of the die-hards in Chicago who lay claim to their parking spaces with strange household objects.So don’t even think about trying to take a spot that you didn’t break a sweat or catch a chill to shovel out. I’ve got dibs.
