The Village of Plainfield is considering an ordinance that will regulate unscheduled intercity buses that transport migrants being sent to sanctuary cities like the City of Chicago from Texas.
The Plainfield Village Board Monday reviewed a proposed statute that considers not only the safety of migrants, but the residents of the community, as well.
“It is the best interest of the village, its employees, its residents to establish a policy for the stopping, standing and parking of intercity buses and the discharge of passengers with the village; and the unloading of passengers without a coordinated plan,” according to the proposal.
If approved, operators of the intercity buses must fill out a form for review by the police chief. All forms must be received by the police chief at least five business days prior to the requested date of arrival. The application must also include a passenger list and buses can only load or unload passengers on Mondays and Fridays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Currently, the village has already implemented a plan to ensure that migrants arriving in Plainfield are safely transported to appropriate facilities in Chicago where they can be processed and safely housed.
Village Administrator Joshua Blakemore said the proposal is meant to prepare Plainfield for the possibility of unscheduled buses dropping off migrants, particularly since the community has a Pace bus park-and-ride facility.
“I am glad to see the village take a proactive approach,” said trustee Richard Kiefer. “We are seeing this in the region. Naperville recently had an unscheduled bus dropping off migrants at the downtown train station.”
Village trustee Margie Bonuchi said the proposed ordinance also considers the human element of the migrant crisis.
“We cannot forget these are human beings,” she said. “It is for their protection as much as it is for the people who live in the community.”
The City of Joliet already addressed the issue as its City Council earlier this month adopted an amendment which stipulates not only will buses that transport asylum seekers be impounded, but the bus company can be fined up to $750 per person on each bus if they fail to seek an application with Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans.
The amendment states that Evans must have the name of every person on the bus, along with a criminal background check conducted on all riders before he would even consider the bus dropping off asylum seekers to make an unscheduled stop in Joliet.
