Wienermobile Gets Parking Ticket

CHICAGO (AP) -- A parking ticket topped the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile after it was left parked illegally on a downtown Chicago thoroughfare.

The 27-foot fiberglass sausage was ticketed Thursday morning after its driver parked it on Michigan Avenue and left it on the side of the six-lane road with the hazard lights blinking.

A police officer ticketed the vehicle and radioed for a tow truck, but the car's driver and passenger returned before the truck arrived.

"The situation was resolved without the use of ketchup, which in Chicago is a big thing," said Matt Smith of the city's Streets and Sanitation Department.

Smith said a city tow truck could have done the job, if necessary.

"We have access to tow trucks that could have handled a Polish sausage, not just a hot dog," Smith said.

Parking on a street marked "Parking/Standing Prohibited Anytime" is a $50 violation, said Ed Walsh, a spokesman for the city's Department of Revenue.

Kraft spokeswoman Sydney Lindner said the Wienermobile is on a nationwide tour promoting a contest to sing the Oscar Mayer jingle in a commercial.

She said illegal parking is against company policy, "even if you're driving a company vehicle that's shaped like a giant hot dog."