Aldermen voted this week to approve an ordinance that will crack down on residents and property owners of buildings that generate repeated police visits.
Police Chief Robert Sturlini said the ordinance, modeled after laws in Kankakee and Des Moines, Iowa, will allow police to increase pressure on property owners whose residents generate “chronic” complaints for more than a dozen crimes, ranging from gambling and prostitution to illegal discharge of firearms and domestic disturbances.
The law, approved by an 8-0 vote, allows police and city officials to make a series of warnings to owners of problem buildings. If the offenders persist in creating police nuisance calls, later court orders could authorize local police to prevent occupancy of the buildings, officials said.
“The intention of the ordinance is to allow for the police to have the leverage you need to get the property owners to clean up their acts,” said Ald. Don Smith.
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Sturlini said the ordinance provides officers with wide discretion in defining what constitutes a “chronic nuisance.”