Lincoln Towing Service
A Chicago-area private-property towing and parking-lot management business operating under the Protective Parking Corporation name.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Lincoln Towing Service is the trade name of Protective Parking Corporation, a private-property towing and parking-management company based in Chicago, Illinois. Its principal facility is on North Clark Street in the Uptown community area, and reference material also identifies a second location on West Armitage Avenue. Unlike a roadside-assistance operator, the company primarily removes vehicles from privately owned or managed parking spaces when property owners or landlords have contracted for enforcement services. It describes its personnel as relocators and presents its work as protecting property owners from unauthorized parking. The business was founded by Ross Cascio, who sold the company on January 20, 1981. Lincoln became widely known in Chicago during the late 1960s and 1970s because of allegations concerning aggressive towing and confrontational treatment of vehicle owners. Chicago Daily News columnist Mike Royko published a long-running series about Cascio and the company, and political campaigns and City Council investigations subsequently made Lincoln Towing a prominent local controversy. Chicago alderman Dick Simpson investigated the company after winning office, while folk singer Steve Goodman turned the subject into the 1972 song “Lincoln Park Pirates.” The song helped embed the company in Chicago’s popular culture, even though it was based on disputes over towing practices rather than on a conventional consumer brand campaign. Lincoln’s core commercial model involves exclusive or otherwise contracted relationships with landlords, apartment operators, commercial-property owners, and parking-lot operators. When an allegedly unauthorized vehicle is removed, the vehicle owner generally pays towing and storage charges to recover it. The company does not issue municipal parking tickets and does not operate in the same way as the City of Chicago’s public-street enforcement system. In addition to vehicle relocation, the business has offered vehicle repossession and parking-lot services, including snow removal, pothole repair, pavement striping, and broader parking-lot construction or maintenance. The company has claimed to operate one of Chicago’s largest fleets of wheel-lift and flatbed tow trucks. The company’s activities are regulated by the Illinois Commerce Commission under Illinois rules governing the commercial relocation of trespassing vehicles. Those rules apply to specified Illinois counties, including Cook, Lake, Kane, DuPage, and Winnebago in the cited regulatory framework, while excluding categories such as roadside-assistance towing, repossession work, public-street towing, and removals directed by law-enforcement authorities. Lincoln’s licensing status became the subject of extended regulatory and judicial proceedings in the late 2010s. The ICC revoked its Illinois relocation-towing license in September 2018, but a Cook County court later allowed operations to continue during litigation, and Circuit Court Judge Neil Cohen reinstated the license in January 2020 after finding that the revocation had been improperly imposed. Lincoln Towing remains associated with both private parking enforcement and recurring public scrutiny. Complaints, alleged customer mistreatment, and disputes about the legality and proportionality of removals have appeared repeatedly in its history. Chicago adopted a Towing Bill of Rights in 2016 after a period of heightened controversy involving the company and other operators. The available material does not establish a current corporate owner, a precise founding year, current executives, revenue, or a geographic footprint beyond the Chicago-area market.
History
Lincoln Towing Service emerged as a Chicago private-property towing business founded by Ross Cascio. The company’s early operating model centered on contracts with property owners who wanted unauthorized vehicles removed from apartment, commercial, and other privately controlled parking facilities. Cascio later sold the company on January 20, 1981, although the available reference material does not identify the buyer or provide a complete ownership chronology. The company became a major local controversy in the late 1960s and 1970s. Beginning in 1967, Chicago Daily News columnist Mike Royko published articles alleging that Cascio and his employees used intimidation and excessive force in disputes over towed vehicles. Cascio sued Royko twice and lost both cases. Complaints recorded by the late 1960s alleged that Lincoln removed vehicles without adequate legal authority and threatened people attempting to recover them. These allegations helped make a normally local parking service a recurring subject of Chicago political debate. Lincoln became an issue in the 1971 44th Ward aldermanic election. Candidates Dick Simpson and James Kargman criticized the company, with Kargman urging local businesses to cancel their contracts. After Simpson won the election, he and his staff investigated Lincoln’s activities, and the City Council considered possible responses. Tensions surrounding the firm also produced violent public reactions: shortly after the election, a crowd of approximately 300 people attacked a Lincoln employee who was removing a car. In 1972, Chicago folk singer Steve Goodman wrote “Lincoln Park Pirates,” a song inspired by the controversy. Goodman initially performed it locally, later expanding its audience after recognizing that the subject resonated beyond Chicago. Some lyrics were developed during visits to Simpson’s office using documents from the alderman’s investigation. Chicago radio stations were initially cautious about broadcasting versions that identified Cascio, fearing legal consequences, but the song eventually received airplay. It remains one of the best-known cultural references to the company. During the 1990s, Lincoln continued operating under different management. In 1992, the company and its then-head Steve Mash were charged with possession of stolen vehicles after detectives observed employees tow a car and later saw workers dismantle it and transfer material to a scrap recycler. The company and Mash were acquitted. Separately, the Illinois Commerce Commission reported 2,078 complaints against Lincoln between 2000 and 2005. An ICC commander stated that the complaint rate was comparable with those of other Illinois towing companies when measured against business volume. The company also reported issuing 139 full refunds during that period. Lincoln’s commercial scope expanded beyond basic vehicle relocation. It served landlords and commercial property owners with parking enforcement and offered repossession work, snow removal, pothole patching, striping, and parking-lot construction or management. Its business differed from municipal enforcement because the company did not issue public parking tickets; it collected towing and storage charges associated with removing vehicles from contracted private property. Reference material states that it had towed more than 30,000 parked cars since September 5, 2005, and claimed one of Chicago’s largest fleets of wheel-lift and flatbed trucks. Controversy intensified again in the 2010s. After a 2015 concert at the Aragon Ballroom, Lincoln removed vehicles from an adjacent lot. Reports described alleged verbal harassment of motorists retrieving their vehicles and an alleged assault involving a cyclist. Alderman Ameya Pawar called the company an unacceptable operator and considered measures that could restrict it. In February 2016, Pawar and Ariel Reboyras introduced a City Council resolution citing an alleged pattern of illegal towing and customer abuse. The company’s attorney later disputed the accusations during a Council meeting. The broader political response was the Chicago Towing Bill of Rights, enacted in June 2016. Among its requirements, the measure required towing operators to notify the Chicago Police Department about properties covered by towing contracts and to place cameras in tow trucks. The same year, the Illinois Commerce Commission began examining Lincoln’s eligibility for a state relocation-towing license. An ICC administrative law judge ruled in July 2018 that agency staff had overstated the company’s violations and found it fit to continue operating. Nevertheless, the ICC revoked the license on September 12, 2018. A Cook County court permitted continued operation while the company challenged the revocation. The ICC declared its decision final in 2019, but litigation continued. In January 2020, Circuit Court Judge Neil Cohen reinstated the license, determining that the ICC had improperly revoked it. The available sources do not document later ownership changes, expansion outside the Chicago area, or a current executive roster.
- 2020
Circuit Court reinstates the license
[1]Judge Neil Cohen reinstated Lincoln’s ICC license after ruling that its revocation had been improper.
- 2018
Illinois relocation license is revoked
[1]The ICC revoked Lincoln’s relocation-towing license after an administrative review had found the company fit to operate.
- 2016
Chicago passes the Towing Bill of Rights
[1]New municipal requirements included contract-location notifications and cameras in tow trucks.
- 1992
Stolen-vehicle charges end in acquittal
[1]Lincoln and company head Steve Mash were acquitted in a case involving alleged possession and dismantling of stolen vehicles.
- 1981
Ross Cascio sells the company
[1]Cascio sold Lincoln Towing Service on January 20; the purchaser is not identified in the available source.
- 1972
Steve Goodman writes “Lincoln Park Pirates”
[1]The Chicago folk singer released a song inspired by the company’s reputation and local towing disputes.
- 1971
Lincoln becomes a 44th Ward election issue
[1]The company became a prominent issue in the aldermanic campaign, followed by an investigation by newly elected alderman Dick Simpson.
- 1967
Mike Royko begins a series of critical columns
[1]Chicago Daily News columnist Mike Royko began publishing articles about Ross Cascio and allegations concerning Lincoln Towing’s methods.
Products and positioning
A private-property relocation and parking-services operator for landlords and commercial property owners, rather than a roadside-assistance provider.
Towing service
Private-property vehicle relocation
Lincoln’s principal service is removing vehicles from parking spaces on private property under contracts with landlords, apartment operators, commercial-property owners, and parking-lot managers. The company characterizes this work as relocation of unauthorized vehicles and distinguishes it from roadside assistance and municipal public-street towing.
Recovery service
Vehicle repossession
The company has also provided repossession services. The cited Illinois commercial relocation rules treat repossession as a category distinct from private-property trespass towing, so this activity is not identical to Lincoln’s regulated relocation license.
Property services
Parking-lot management
Lincoln’s parking-related work has included operational and maintenance services such as snow removal, pothole patching, pavement striping, and broader parking-lot construction or management for property owners.
Controversies
2018
State license revocation
The ICC revoked Lincoln’s Illinois relocation-towing license after a contested investigation. The revocation was later overturned by a Circuit Court judge in 2020.
2015
Aragon Ballroom towing dispute
The removal of concertgoers’ vehicles was followed by allegations of verbal harassment and an assault involving a cyclist, leading to calls for action by a Chicago alderman.
1992
Stolen-vehicle prosecution
Lincoln and Steve Mash were charged after police observed conduct they said involved towing, dismantling, and scrapping a vehicle. Both were acquitted.
1971
Political investigation and public confrontation
The company became the subject of an aldermanic investigation and City Council debate. A large crowd later attacked a Lincoln employee during a vehicle removal.
1968
Early complaints over alleged unauthorized towing
Complaints alleged that Lincoln removed vehicles without sufficient legal standing and threatened people attempting to reclaim them.
Marketing campaigns
- 1972Lincoln Park Pirates
Chicago · United States
Steve Goodman’s folk song used Lincoln Towing as a symbol of Chicago’s contentious private-property towing culture. It began as a local performance piece and later reached a wider audience.
Outcome. The song became a durable cultural reference associated with the company, despite not being an authorized corporate campaign.
Brand decisions
2020
Court reinstates state towing licenseOtherBackground
Lincoln challenged the ICC’s final decision after the commission declined further appeals.
Action taken
Circuit Court Judge Neil Cohen reinstated the ICC license and ruled that the commission had improperly revoked it.
Aftermath
The ruling preserved the company’s ability to conduct regulated relocation towing in Illinois, subject to applicable laws and licensing requirements.
2018
Illinois Commerce Commission revokes relocation licenseOtherBackground
The ICC reviewed Lincoln’s continuing eligibility after an investigation into alleged violations and complaints.
Action taken
On September 12, the ICC revoked Lincoln’s Illinois relocation-towing license.
Aftermath
A Cook County judge allowed the company to continue operating while it challenged the ruling. The license was ultimately reinstated by the Circuit Court in January 2020.
2016
Chicago adopts new towing safeguardsOtherBackground
Public criticism of Lincoln and other towing operators contributed to a municipal debate over transparency, accountability, and customer treatment.
Action taken
Chicago enacted a Towing Bill of Rights requiring, among other measures, notifications to the Chicago Police Department about private towing contracts and cameras in tow trucks.
Aftermath
The measure established additional operating requirements for towing companies in Chicago.
Sources2 sources
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