Crack Down on Agressive Panhandlers

By Rachelle Bowden in News on Sep 2, 2004 1:09PM

Alderman Burton Natarus is sick and tired of aggressive panhandlers who annoy Chicago residents & visitors. So sick & tired that he is proposing an ordinance that allows panhandlers to stand in place, but will make it illegal for them to to touch people they solicit, block their paths, pursue them, or use "profane or abusive language." The ordinance would also bar panhandling at bus stops, on public buses & trains, in restaurants or sidewalk cafes, or within 10 feet of an ATM.

Natarus said, "We don't want to be Charles Dickens. We don't want to stop people from asking for money if they're homeless. But, if you ask for money, you have to do it in a reasonable way. You stand there, ask for the money and that's as far as it goes. If you become aggressive and pushy, that's interfering with someone else's rights."

Violators would be fined $50 for the first or second offense and $100 for multiple offenses. Chicagoist isn't sure where a panhandler would get the money for a fine, besides panhandling more.. but.. we're not the lawmakers.

In 2002 courts struck down an earlier panhandling ordinance, but Natarus says his new proposal, based on an IN law, has passed appellate court scrutiny. The Chicago proposal is gentler than the IN one, which charges a $2,500 fine and bars panhandling after dusk. The Chicago ordinance doesn't have limits on the hours of panhandling.