Parking Roulette in Downtown Wilmette

This bit of gossip you will love. Apparently there is a new, high-tech way to monitor parking in downtown Wilmette, where parking is limited to 2 hours. Until recently, the police chalked your tires to monitor cars that had not been moved. Now they read your license plate into a scanner, and parking is divided into zones. A couple of hours later, the parking officer drives by again and re-scans the license plates. If the same car appears in the scanner in the same zone a second time, BINGO! You get a parking ticket! Now only one problem: suppose you run to the dry cleaners or to get a cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Then you go home or to your office, get your work done, and go back to the village to buy--say--some vacuum cleaner bags. The first time you park your car is scanned. Then, after you return, the parking officer comes by for a second time, scans your car, and gives you a parking ticket! That is sure to make your day. Meanwhile, the Village Board chronically complains that they cannot attract enough people to do their shopping in downtown Wilmette. With shopper friendly policies such as these is it any wonder people want to buy what they need on the Internet?