Timothy Schoolmaster
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3/12/2025 3:32 PM
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Thanks Joanne, for originally bringing this to our attention!
EVANSTON Bike Registration- New Info, and a big improvement-
Despite my justified skepticism of the published Evanston bike registration policy mentioned on the link Joanne provided (which has not been updated since the Covid quarantine) I checked with my contact at the EPD Community Policing and Outreach Unit, Officer Ted Schienbein. Most folk at EPD are not even aware this new initiative exists, but it's an international registration and it gets you in EPDs database, available to law enforcement internationally. You have to agree to share your data with them (limited to name, email address, and phone, and of course bike info). Police running a bike serial number could easily contact you even before you realized your bike was stolen.
I did it, and it was quick and easy to register. If you want the serial numbered decal, (not needed to register) you need to contact EPD at the number below. They have obtained a quantity of the stickers, which they offer for free (bike shops charge $10). The sticker has a QR code and serial number keyed to your info-(you'd be really stupid to try to register a stolen bike, but I've seen all kinds of stupid.)
  "EPD has partnered with Project 529, a bicycle registration and
networking initiative, as a means to help curb bike theft in the city
and return stolen/missing bicycles to their rightful owners. The rollout
for this project will begin with the Community Policing and
Engagement/Outreach Units giving the 529 sticker shield to registrants
at community events. However, as word spreads to others in the Evanston
biking community, you may be asked on the street how to register a
bicycle with 529. If so, please refer inquiries to CPU at 847-866-5018.
For more info on how the network functions, visit:
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Timothy Schoolmaster
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3/10/2025 1:56 PM
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Good tip- In theory,the main value is that the police department will have the description of your bike, including serial number, in the event it gets stolen. They can't enter it in any crime database without the serial number. Most folk have no clue where they have the serial number written down. EPD has recovered numerous high end stolen bikes in Evanston over the years (several come to mind from the west and east coasts of the USA) where the offender was the second thief, and had just re-liberated it from someone's garage or basement locker. Plenty of locally stolen bikes were also recovered. In theory, even if the registration sticker gets removed, they can do a name search for your name and pull up the serial number.
So what's wrong with this picture?
The city used to charge 50 cents for this, and required the bike be brought to record the bike's physical details (which included running the serial number).
You get what you pay for.
Now, according to the link Joanne provided, it's free, is all on-line, no one looks at the bike, and apparently anyone can register any bike, whether it's theirs or not, and they'll mail you the sticker. If you can detect any sense in this new procedure, do let me know.
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Joanne Davis
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3/10/2025 12:38 PM
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Reminder to make sure your bicycle is registered. I’m not sure of the data base bandwidth but I believe that the registration sticker may be somewhat of a deterrent.
https://www.cityofevanston.org/government/departments/police/bicycle-registration
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