Forest Park is requiring any bus operators that plan to drop off asylum-seekers at Forest Park to register ahead of time – otherwise, they will face thousands of dollars in fines. 

The ordinance unanimously adopted by the village council Jan. 8 sets for the first time a clear policy for how to respond to bus companies that are being chartered by Texas Gov.  Greg Abbott to transport migrants in the United States. With Chicago clamping down on buses, the drop-offs have increasingly been happening in nearby areas. River Forest and Oak Park were among the many neighboring suburbs that adopted similar restrictions. 

The new ordinance comes after recent incidents of buses dropping off migrants at the Forest Park terminal. Forest Park mayor Rory Hoskins said that they wanted to put together something that’s consistent with their neighbors.   

The new ordinance requires that any buses that transport passengers but don’t follow a regular schedule must submit the application to the Forest Park Police Chief in order to be able to drop off passengers anywhere in the village.  The application must be submitted at least five days ahead of time, and must include “the full name, full address, and telephone numbers” of the applicant – which can be the bus company owner, the operator or the driver – and the entity that paid them to transport passengers.  The application also has to include the driver’s cell phone number. 

The applicants need to also provide the full names and copies of government identifications of every passenger on the bus. The buses would only be able to drop off passengers on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., and the address of a drop-off point must be included in the application. The application must also include the addresses and locations from which the passengers will be picked up. 

Once the police chief gets the application, he has up to four days to either approve or reject it. 

Any applicant who doesn’t follow the ordinance, or lies on the application, can be fined anywhere between $300 and $750 per transported passenger per day. 

During the Jan. 8 meeting, Hoskins said that the village’s overall goal will be to steer migrants toward Chicago. 

“This will allow us to work with our neighboring communities to direct buses dropping off migrants to the City of Chicago’s designated [drop-off] space,” he said.