Ottawa City Council adopts policy covering migrant drop-offs

Ottawa now has in place a plan that protects its citizens and visitors but also treats migrants humanely should they be dropped off within city limits.

The Ottawa City Council on Tuesday approved a policy regarding what to do should there be unscheduled bus stops and the discharge of migrants.

Mayor Robb Hasty said truck stops and large department stores along Interstate 80 have been contacted and asked to inform police should a suspicious bus attempt to drop off its passengers.

If a bus attempts to drop off its passengers, the first step would be to ask the bus to desist and move on toward its likely destination of Chicago. If the driver refuses to do so, police are empowered to levy fines and possibly impound the bus itself, per the new ordinance.

“Hopefully the fine is enough to motivate the driver to continue on down the road,” Hasty said.

Should a bus drop off its passengers on the street or in a parking lot and leave before police arrive, however – particularly in light of the weather and temperatures the Illinois Valley has been experiencing for the last week – there is an option that might provide migrants with temporary shelter until other buses could arrive.

The mayor said bus companies have been contacted and agreed to take migrants to Chicago on an as-needed, on-call basis. In the meantime, local churches, nonprofit businesses and homeless shelters have agreed to provide basic necessities including food, warm clothing and water for a brief stay.

Whether the bus agrees to leave or another bus is substituted, police would provide it with an escort to Chicago, preventing it from discharging passengers in a neighboring small community.

Hasty stressed that the humanitarian option, barring unforeseen circumstances, would have the stranded individuals on their way in as little as an hour. It should in no way be stretched out to several hours or days, he said.

“It’s our goal to not only protect our community but to protect the people on the bus,” Hasty said. “We want to make sure they get to where they need to be so they can be documented and properly processed.

“The best thing is for them to get to Chicago. Short of that, we’re doing our best to keep our community safe.”

Commissioner Tom Ganiere asked the council to adopt and send to Washington, D.C., a resolution in support of a House of Representatives bill, a bipartisan measure calling for immigration reform.

City attorney Christina Cantlin VanWiggeren agreed to draw it up.

Migrants arriving in northern Illinois cities is the latest in a trend seen over the past year as Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s administration transports groups crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas to Democratic-led cities such as Chicago, The Associated Press reported.

Chicago city leaders, however, have since imposed penalties of their own on unscheduled bus drop-offs, saying the abrupt nature of the drop-offs doesn’t allow the city to adequately prepare to house those in need.

As a result of these new rules in Chicago, a number of buses have left migrants in the Chicago suburbs. So far, no buses have arrived in La Salle County.

In other action, the council:

• Heard Ganiere commend the Ottawa Fire Department for its quick evaluation, response and extinguishing of a fire that claimed the life of one person. He also thanked all of the entities and personnel that aided in fighting the fire on a cold and windy night.
• Approved the Zoning Board recommendations to grant variances at 504 W. Superior St. and 901 La Salle St.
• Heard from Commissioner Marla Pearson that the city’s Veterans Banner program will continue in 2024, its third year.