The tiny village of Lake Barrington became one of the latest Lake County municipalities to establish rules for dealing with bus drop-offs of people in town after groups of asylum-seeking migrants have been unexpectedly unloaded in other locations around the region – especially near Metra stations.
Village trustees approved the ordinance at the special Jan. 17 Village Board meeting, amending the town’s current motor vehicles and traffic code.
“Our hearts go out to the people who have left their homes in search of a better life. We also recognize that small towns like ours are not equipped to manage the scale required to meet their needs,” Lake Barrington Village President Kevin Richardson said in a statement to Pioneer Press.
Lake Barrington has about 5,100 residents, according to the U.S. Census.
The ordinance, which officials state is to “address an urgent concern confronting the public health, safety and welfare within the village,” was approved on a 5-0 vote at the special meeting. Richardson and Trustee John Schaller were absent.
Suburban municipalities began to set regulations for buses dropping off migrants transported to the area from Texas – after crossing into this country at the southern border with Mexico — when the city of Chicago created a special unloading zone and banned unscheduled drop offs. Buses companies not following the rules were fined and the coach buses impounded.
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Bus companies began to circumvent the city’s rules. The migrants, who are mostly from the South American country of Venezuela and seeking asylum in the U.S., have been left in suburban towns at odd nighttime hours and not adequately dressed for the cold weather.
In adopting their own ordinances, suburban leaders have cited safety – for the migrants and town residents – as a primary reason for establishing formal drop-off rules.
With its ordinance, Lake Barrington now considers it a violation for any bus, recreational or other vehicle used to transport more than six individuals, to make an unscheduled stop to drop off passengers in the village without written approval of the village administrator in consultation with the Lake County sheriff.
In most cases in other suburbs, migrants have been left near Metra commuter rail stations. However, concern has been expressed over that because service schedules vary, with no train service available usually between midnight and 4 a.m., and access to the inside of train stations limited too. That could leave migrants outdoors – in the cold – for hours without local authorities knowing they are there.
Lake Barrington is about four miles away from the Fox River Grove station stop on Metra’s Union Pacific Northwest Line.
“Should the need arise in Lake Barrington, we will facilitate the compassionate, secure transition of any migrants to Chicago, where the needed resources are available. The ordinance will enable this by requiring transit companies to provide the village with five calendar days’ notice prior to any proposed scheduled drop-off of passengers,” Richardson said in the statement.
According to the ordinance, passengers may only be dropped off in Lake Barrington between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. And, a plan must have been submitted to the village administrator explaining how the individuals being dropped off will be cared for, housed and fed – temporarily or permanently – upon arrival in the village.
Penalties for violating the rules include a mandatory fine, and seizure and impoundment of the bus or other vehicle by the Lake County sheriff. Impoundment would continue until the $750 administrative fee is paid to the village or the Lake County sheriff and fees are paid to the towing company.
Thousands of people have arrived in Chicago since August 2022 when Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began sending asylum-seekers to sanctuary cities like Chicago, New York City and Denver.
Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration has been called on to aid the cities in accommodating the migrants.
“Going forward, we urge the Administration and the Congress to come together to find a meaningful, bipartisan solution to this crisis,” Richardson said in the statement.