One of the smallest villages we cover
Phoenix is 0.46 square miles, with 1,708 residents at the 2020 Census, all in ZIP code 60426. It’s surrounded by Harvey to the north and west and by South Holland to the east. Its origin is a local story: a subdivision called Phenix Park grew up just outside dry Harvey, and in August 1900 its residents voted to incorporate rather than be annexed. Halsted Street used to be Harvey’s eastern edge, and today it’s the only major road inside the village.
That makes our route easy to describe. From 13720 S Lowe Ave the truck heads south on Halsted and turns at 152nd Street. About 2.9 road miles, eight minutes in light traffic.
Phoenix landmarks for the driver
Because the village is so compact, a street plus one landmark is usually enough. Two that work well: the strip mall at 503 E. 153rd Street and the Sterling Lumber yard on 151st Street. There’s no rail station inside Phoenix; Pace route 348 is the bus line through town.
Houses, driveways and the 2 to 5 a.m. rule
About 80 percent of Phoenix homes are single-family detached houses and two thirds are owner-occupied, by the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 estimates. Most pickups are from a driveway or the street out front, and the street is where Phoenix’s code gets strict.
- Overnight: no parking on any street for more than 30 minutes between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m. (physicians on emergency calls excepted).
- Snow: once snow is more than 1 inch deep, through streets and bus streets allow only short loading stops, from the start of the snowfall until 8 hours after it ends, and during snow removal. That’s a lower trigger than the 2-inch rules in most neighbouring villages.
- Trucks and trailers: no parking on residential streets beyond loading time, with a 60-minute limit on business streets. Violators may be towed.
- For sale: you can’t park a car on the street to display it for sale.
- Alleys: an alley parker has to leave 10 feet clear and not block a driveway.
If your car died on the street, the simplest fix is a same-day pickup. We can often come the same day, especially if you call in the morning; our guide to same-day junk car removal explains what helps.
The inoperable vehicle rules
Phoenix defines an inoperable motor vehicle as one with parts removed, altered or damaged so it can’t run under its own power for at least 7 days. Cars kept in a building, historic vehicles over 25 years old and junking businesses are excluded. No partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked or junked vehicle may be left on any street, and inoperable vehicles on public or private property are declared a nuisance. The owner must dispose of one on written notice from the village or police, who may also remove and impound it.
The village also requires a village license on residents’ vehicles; licenses expire December 31 and are due January 2. If you’re junking the car late in the year, don’t buy next year’s.
We set the Phoenix rules next to the other villages’ in inoperable car notices in the south suburbs.
Vehicles we take from Phoenix
Sedans, pickups, vans and SUVs, running or not. Free towing, payment by cash, Zelle or Cash App when the car is loaded, and several vehicles at one address in one trip if you have them. If the title’s gone, tell us what you have; Illinois rules decide which papers work, and we’ll confirm on the call.
Bordering Phoenix
South Holland wraps around the east side. Dixmoor is a few minutes west past Harvey, and our home village, Riverdale, is straight north on Halsted. See every area on the towns page.