Rosemont could cite and fine bus companies from Texas, impound their vehicles and arrest drivers for dropping off migrants in town, under an ordinance approved Monday.
The new rules — which are similar to ones in Cicero and tighter penalties being considered by the Chicago City Council this week — come after about half a dozen buses started bringing asylum-seekers to Rosemont on Dec. 6.
Each bus had about 40 to 50 people, who were being let off in front of the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, the Metra Rosemont station on Balmoral Avenue and the Metra O’Hare transfer station on Zemke Boulevard on airport property next to Rosemont.
“We’re not going to let them just drop people off and drive away,” Mayor Brad Stephens said Monday. “It’s inhumane dropping them off on a concrete sidewalk on a day like today.”
The village ordinance, unanimously approved by trustees Monday, would fine bus companies $750 per vehicle for making a so-called “unscheduled” bus stop. That’s less than Cicero’s fine of $750 per individual. Migrants were dropped off at the Metra station there in late November.
The Rosemont ordinance also calls for buses to be impounded, which mirrors a regulation approved by the Chicago City Council on Wednesday. The city has requirements for when and where new arrivals can be dropped off.
For more on this story go to Dailyherald.com.
