ORDINANCE NO. 2024-41
AN ORDINANCE OF THE VILLAGE OF MINOOKA, WILL, GRUNDY, AND KENDALL COUNTIES, ILLINOIS ESTABLISHING REGULATIONS FOR UNSCHEDULED INTERCITY BUSES, AND THE DISCHARGE OF PASSENGERS TO ENSURE THE HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE OF RESIDENTS AND VISITORS TO THE VILLAGE OF MINOOKA
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Illinois Municipal Code, 65 ILCS 5/1-1-1 et seq., generally, the Corporate Authorities of each municipality may exercise powers and perform functions for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Minooka (the "Corporate Authorities") are charged with the responsibility of protecting the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Village; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 1-2-1 of the Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/1-2-1), the Corporate Authorities of the Village are authorized to pass all ordinances and make all rules and regulations proper or necessary, to carry into effect the powers granted to municipalities, with such fines or penalties as may be deemed proper; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 11-1-1 of the Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/11-1-1) the Corporate Authorities of the Village are authorized to pass and enforce all necessary police ordinances; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 11-42-6 of the Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/11-42-6) the Corporate Authorities of the Village are authorized to regulate bus drivers; and
WHEREAS, since mid-December of 2023, unscheduled intercity buses have stopped in villages to unload dozens of passengers; and
WHEREAS, the Corporate Authorities have found that it is in the best interests of the Village, its employees, its residents, and visitors to establish regulations for the safe and orderly stopping, standing, and parking of unscheduled intercity buses and the discharge of passengers within the Village; and
WHEREAS, the Corporate Authorities determined that the unloading of passengers from an unscheduled intercity bus in inclement or severe weather conditions or at varied unscheduled hours, days, or locations in the Village without a coordinated plan poses a significant threat to the health, welfare, and safety of passengers; and
WHEREAS, the Corporate Authorities find that it is in the best interest of the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the Village to establish the regulations herein specified to ensure necessary Village services and programs are prepared ahead of time.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CORPORATE AUTHORITIES OF THE VILLAGE OF MINOOKA, WILL, GRUNDY, AND KENDALL COUNTIES, ILLINOIS, PURSUANT TO ITS STATUTORY AUTHORITY, AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Corporate Authorities hereby find that all of the recitals contained in the preamble to this Ordinance are true, correct, and complete and are hereby incorporated by reference hereto and made a part hereof.
SECTION 2. The Corporate Authorities find and declare that the regulations and requirements herein established are to protect and ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the Village and are further undertaken in accordance with and pursuant to the exercise of the Village’s statutory authority.
SECTION 3. The purpose of this Ordinance is to approve and adopt a policy for the benefit of the Village, its employees, its residents, and visitors to the Village, and to authorize the Village President and the Chief of Police, and their designees to take any and all action necessary to effectuate and carry out the policy herein established.
SECTION 4.
The Policy of the Village of Minooka Establishing Regulations for Unscheduled Intercity Buses and the Discharge of Passengers, a copy of which is attached hereto and made a part hereof, as Exhibit A (the “Policy”), is hereby authorized and approved.
SECTION 5. In the event that any provision or provisions, portion or portions, or clause or clauses of this Ordinance shall be declared to be invalid or unenforceable by a Court of competent jurisdiction, such adjudication shall in no way affect or impair the validity or enforceability of any of the remaining provisions, portions, or clauses of this Ordinance that may be given effect without such invalid or unenforceable provision or provisions, portion or portions, or clause or clauses.
SECTION 6. All ordinances, resolutions, motions, or parts thereof, conflicting with any of the provisions of this Ordinance, are hereby repealed to the extent of the conflict.
SECTION 7. The Village Clerk is hereby directed to publish this Ordinance in pamphlet form.
SECTION 8. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval and publication in pamphlet form as provided by law.
PRESENTED and passed by the Board of Trustees on a roll call vote on the 23
rd
of January 2024.
Exhibit A
Rules and Regulations of the Village of Minooka Regarding Unscheduled Intercity Buses
RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE VILLAGE OF MINOOKA REGARDING UNSCHEDULED INTERCITY BUSES
For the purposes of these Rules and Regulations, these definitions shall apply.
b. “Approval” means written notice that the Chief of Police has received, reviewed, and determined that an application satisfies the requirements of the Village and the Policy.
c. “Chief of Police” means the Village of Minooka Chief of Police.
d. “Policy” means this written policy.
e. “Regularly scheduled service” means intercity bus service that operates trips on a predictable and recurring basis, following a schedule that is published in advance and available to the general public, and provides service in exchange for paying a fare.
f. “Unscheduled intercity bus” means any bus used for the transportation of persons between the Village of Minooka and locations outside of the Chicago-Minooka and Will County area that is not operating pursuant to authorization of the Chief of Police authorization via: (i) an approved letter of permission or (ii) an approved schedule and/or approved pick-up/drop- off zone, as of the effective date of this Policy. “Unscheduled intercity bus” shall not include any bus used to transport passengers in a manner where they will be picked up by that same bus or another bus within the fleet of that same bus, from the approximately same drop of location, including but not limited to school students on field trips, wedding guests, or protestors exercising their first amendment rights.
g. “Village” shall mean the Village of Minooka, Illinois.
II. Applicability
The application, review, and approval process pursuant to the limitations and requirements of this Policy for unscheduled intercity buses shall apply to all operators seeking an unscheduled intercity bus service for a specified date, time and location for the loading or unloading of passengers in accordance with approved written authorization as herein required.
III. Notice and Application Required
The operator of any unscheduled intercity bus must make application for an approval to arrive and load/unload passengers in the Village on the appropriate form made available by the Chief of Police. All applications for unscheduled intercity bus service must be received by the Chief of Police a minimum of five (5) full business days prior to the requested date of arrival in the application.
All applications shall include the proposed passenger list, and the operator shall be required to perform background checks on each passenger over the age of eighteen, and shall provide copies of the same to the Chief of Police as part of the application.
Each application for an unscheduled intercity bus drop off must include an order authorizing the drop off executed by the head of the public body originating the transfer of such passengers.
Applications for unscheduled intercity buses will be reviewed on a first-come, first-serve basis. No more than one (1) application, regardless of operator, shall be approved by the Chief of Police for a given date, time, and location.
Unscheduled intercity buses shall only load/unload passengers at locations designated by the Chief of Police, which shall be listed on the approved application.
For any given approval, unscheduled intercity buses must arrive no sooner than, and no later than 30 minutes after, the approved arrival time, otherwise the application shall be considered invalidated. Any loading/ unloading of passengers outside of this scheduled window shall result in a $750.00 fine per passenger to the operator.
Operators of unscheduled intercity buses must carry a physical or electronic copy of an approved application and present it for inspection at the place of loading/unloading upon request by any employee or designee of the Village.
IX. Penalty.
Any operator of an unscheduled intercity bus that attempts to or does in fact unload passengers based on an application that is false or incorrect shall be sub subject to a $750.00 fine per passenger upon the intercity bus operator.
X. Criminal Charges
The Chief of Police is hereby authorized to pursue criminal charges against any (i) unscheduled intercity bus operator, (ii) unscheduled intercity bus driver, or (iii) third-party employees who are charged with the oversight of the passengers, when such individual attempts to or does discharge passengers where such actions endanger the health, safety or welfare of passengers.
The Chief of Police shall consider the following when determining whether to pursue criminal charges:
(a) The location of the discharge or attempted discharge of passengers;
(b) Extreme weather conditions, including temperatures below freezing, snowfall, severe rain, or other inclement weather which poses a risk to passengers;
(c) Whether any of the passengers are minors; and
(d) The time of day and access to shelter or transportation for passengers.
XI. Civil Remedies
The Village’s attorneys are hereby authorized and directed to pursue any and all civil remedies against intercity bus operators that fail to or refuse to comply with the Policy or these Rules and Regulations. Such civil remedies include, but are not limited to, injunctive relief, declaratory judgements, and debt collection actions.
VILLAGE OF MINOOKA, ILLINOIS APPLICATION
FOR UNSCHEDULED INTERCITY BUS
All unscheduled intercity buses must use this application form and receive approval from the VILLAGE OF MINOOKA, Illinois prior to loading/unloading any passengers within the Village limits.
APPLICANT INFORMATION
Bus Company Name:
Bus Company Address:
Bus Company State of Incorporation:
Primary Contact Name:
Title/Position of Primary Contact:
Primary Contact Phone:
Primary Contact Email:
Bus Driver’s Full Name (including middle):
Bus Driver's Date of Birth:
Bus Driver’s Phone:
Bus Driver’s Operator's License #
State of Issuance: ---- Expiration Date:
Other employees (Bus Company or 3rd party contractors or individuals assisting with the transportation of passengers: (attach a separate page if needed)
Full Name of any 3rd Parties: Date of Birth:
PASSENGER INFORMATION
(A) The Applicant must attach a proposed passenger list of all proposed passengers (including any employees of a 3rd party involved in the transportation of passengers) to this Application.
(B) The Applicant must provide background check information for all proposed passengers (including 3rd party contractors or individuals assisting in the transportation of passengers) over the age of eighteen (18) years. Attach background check information to this Application- failure to attach background information will result in the Application being denied with no further processing.
(C) Any passenger or 3rd party employee/individual not listed on the Application who exits the bus will be considered in violation of Village Policy (failure to submit a background check with the application) and will result in a $750.00 fine, per person, assessed to the bus operator.
ARRIVAL INFORMATION
Proposed Arrival Date*: _
(*Must be at least 5 business days from the date of application submission)
Proposed arrival time: (check only one time period)
Morning: ? 10-11 am ? ll am-12 pm
Afternoon ? 12-1 pm ? 1-2 pm ? 2-3 pm ? 3-4 pm
USDOT of bus:
Bus license plate and State:
Any unscheduled intercity bus that allows passengers to disembark outside these days and hours will be considered in violation of Village Policy and will result in a fine, per person, assessed to the bus operator.
AUTHORIZATION FROM HEAD OF PUBLIC BODY INITIATING TRANSFER
The Applicant must
provide an order authorizing the transfer of the proposed passengers which is executed by the head of the public body which has initiated the transfer via unscheduled intercity bus.
No application shall be processed without a copy of the authorizing order.
Date: _________________
Applicant Signature
Applicant's Name-Typed or Printed
(Required)
Notary Seal:
Village Use only:
Date Received: Time Received: How received:
Signature of Village Official: Approved or Denied (Circle)
Name of Village Official: