Yes, that was a good link ...
Sec. 33-55. Handicap parking.
(a) No person who is not handicapped shall park any vehicle in any parking space which has been designated as handicapped parking. A vehicle driven by, or carrying as a passenger, a handicapped person may be parked in a space designated as handicapped parking if the vehicle displays any of the following:
(1) Current state registration plates for handicapped persons;
(2) State authorized decals or devices for handicapped persons;
(3) City certificate issued prior to August 22, 1984, until the certificate expires on its own term or until December 31, 1984, whichever date occurs first; or
(4) Any current decal or device issued by any unit of local government other than the City.
(b) For the purposes of this section, a handicapped person is a natural person who is unable to walk two hundred (200) feet or more unassisted by another person or without the aid of a walker, crutches, braces, prosthetic device or a wheelchair or without great difficulty or discomfort due to the following impairments; neurological, orthopedic, respiratory, cardiac, arthritic disorder, blindness, or the loss of function or absence of a limb or limbs.
(c) Certificates issued by the City Clerk prior to August 22, 1984, shall continue in force until the date of expiration listed on the certificate or until December 31, 1984, whichever date occurs first. Permanent certificates shall expire on December 31, 1984.
(d) A vehicle driven by, or carrying as a passenger, a handicapped person, is not subject to the time limitations on parking set out in his chapter or other codes or ordinances of the City where that vehicle displays any of the items set out in subsection (a) of this section.
(C.B. No. 81-61, § 1, 5-19-81; C.B. No. 84-156, § 1, 8-7-84)
State law references: Handicapped parking, 625 ILCS 5/11-1301.1
And ...
Sec. 33-60. Parking vehicles on private property.
(b) Any person who is not handicapped, and who parks a motor vehicle in a parking space on private property designated as handicapped parking, shall be deemed to have parked without the permission of the owner of the private property. However, such permission shall be presumed to a vehicle bearing any of the decals or devices listed in section 33-55, where such vehicle is driven by, or carries as a passenger, a handicapped person as defined in section 33-55.
And section 33-1 defines parking:
Park or parking shall mean the standing of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, otherwise than when temporarily and actually engaged in loading or unloading merchandise or passengers.
So ... the same definitions would appear to apply. In that case, I'd say that the only way you are guilty of the offense would be if the officer can articulate that you delayed or were otherwise not actively engaged in the loading or unloading of passengers.
It is possible that there is case law that refines this somehow, but it is more likely that the officer was operating under a misconception of the legal definition of "parking".
- Carl