South suburbs such as University Park and Tinley Park plan to impose fines as a way of blocking buses ferrying migrants to their towns.
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Both communities this week approved measures that would require bus operators to register in advance if they are going to be dropping off passengers from unscheduled intercity buses.
University Park Trustee Theo Brooks said Thursday that, within the past week, several buses have attempted to unload migrants, primarily at the village’s Metra station, which is the farthest southern stop on the Metra Electric Line.
“We have been getting bombarded with these buses from Texas,” Brooks said. “We’re just not equipped for what is happening.”
His village and Tinley Park have set fines of $750 per passenger against bus operators that don’t register unscheduled passenger drop-offs ahead of time.
They’re restricting discharging of passengers to the window of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and giving police authority to impound buses that don’t comply.
Tinley Park’s ordinance also requires bus operators to complete an application process that denotes the day and time passengers are being unloaded, and to provide a list of passengers as well as conducting background checks on passengers.
The city of Chicago still accepts busloads of migrants, but is seeking the ability to impound buses and fine owners $3,000 if they don’t follow the city’s rules limiting time and frequency of arrivals.
Many migrants have been sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, in protest of immigration policy allowing thousands of migrants to cross the border, which recently reached record highs.
The new Chicago regulations have resulted in “shifting buses out to all the suburbs,” Elizabeth Scott, University Park’s village manager, said at a special board meeting Wednesday where trustees approved the rules.
She said she was “hopeful this is going to curtail the activity” by imposing fines and requiring authorization for passenger drop-offs.
“We are being proactive,” Scott said at the meeting.
Still, she said, “we need money, we need resources” to deal with the influx.
Brooks said that for one recent bus arrival, Scott and some trustees gathered up food, blankets and coats for passengers. The trustee said he witnessed one bus arrival.
“People are wearing sandals, no jackets and it’s cold,” he said. “What do you do?”
Tinley Park has not had any instances of unscheduled bus drop-offs, according to police Chief Thomas Tilton. That village’s ordinance requires bus operators to file applications with the Police Department.
None has been received so far, but if any should come in “we will determine a drop-off point and then work with either Cook or Will County to facilitate transportation for the passengers if necessary to their final destination or shelter,” Tilton said.
He said that should there be an unscheduled discharge in the village by a bus, officials have identified some emergency shelter locations where migrants could be housed.
Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz said that “unscheduled bus stops without a coordinated plan, especially in inclement weather, endangers the safety and welfare of passengers.”
Tilton said the policy is not directed at passengers but bus operators.
“We won’t interact with the passengers, other than to make sure they get to where they’re supposed to go safely,” Tilton said. “We will only cite the bus operator and seize their equipment if they refuse to comply with the ordinance.”
Recently, busloads of migrants were turned away in Cicero and in Rosemont
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, where several buses from El Paso, Texas, arrived at the Metra stations in Cicero and in Rosemont near O’Hare International Airport.Rosemont has also put in place an ordinance that levies fines for unauthorized drop-offs of bus passengers, and other suburbs in the Chicago area have enacted similar rules.
Brooks said that he doesn’t believe other suburbs near University Park have seen buses of migrants arriving, and that his village’s small Police Department can’t monitor incoming buses all the time.
“It’s hitting us hard,” he said.
Brooks said that imposing fines might not be the answer but “it’s a start, we gotta do something.”