I recently appealed a $20 parking citation because I had entered my correct license plate number when paying for parking, but Parking Services apparently checked the wrong plate number to see if I paid since they don't know how motorcycle license plates in Illinois work.

The issue was that Illinois motorcycle license plates don't physically display the full registration number, which includes a motorcycle-specific prefix. I used the full, correct number shown on the registration that you must include when indicating your plate number in all online systems when paying, but the citation was issued using only the characters displayed on the plate.

I paid the $5 appeal fee, and my appeal was approved the following day. However, I haven't received a refund or credit for the $5 fee. The parking appeals page doesn't seem to indicate if I'll get that $5 back or not.

For anyone who's successfully appealed a parking citation at SIUE, was your $5 appeal fee refunded, applied as a credit, or kept by the university even though your appeal was approved?