COUNCIL EXPANDS POLICE POWERS

BLOOMINGTON -- People whom police officers think might be selling or buying
drugs can be told to leave certain areas or face arrest, according to a
measure passed Monday by the Bloomington City Council.

The ordinance will allow Bloomington Police Chief Roger Aikin to designate
certain parts of Bloomington as "drug-free zones."

Officers can then tell anyone they suspect of drug activity to leave the
area. People who refuse to leave or who return within three hours may be
arrested.

"If you identify an area in town ... and we see people hanging out looking
like they are selling drugs, we can make them leave," Aikin said.

Aikin said he will use police-intelligence reports and arrest reports to
select the areas, but he hasn't chosen any areas yet.

No one spoke against the ordinance Monday night, but the local chapter of
the American Civil Liberties Union may review the new ordinance at its next
meeting in November.

"If it has taken people's assembly rights away, it will fail of its own
accord," said Margot Mendoza, chairwoman of the steering committee of the
Central Illinois chapter of the ACLU. "It's never going to work if it is
illegal. It's just going to come to a brick wall."

Mendoza said if the ACLU finds the ordinance to be a violation of people's
right to assemble, it will ask the city's legal department for a review.

Bloomington's legal staff believes its ordinance will be upheld.

Bloomington's ordinance is similar to one enacted in Chicago, where city
government crafted an ordinance intended to keep street gangs from claiming
turf.

The U.S. Supreme Court found an early version of the ordinance
unconstitutional in 1999, but suggested ways to make the code lawful.

With those changes made, Illinois circuit courts have upheld the law.

The ordinance will take effect in 10 days. Officers still have to be
trained on the ordinance before enforcement starts.

"We hope this will take care of some problems," Aikin said. "It is just a
tool officers can use. This will help the police department."

In August, the council approved changes to the city code that will allow
the police department to tow and impound vehicles involved in certain
offenses. Some offenses include driving under the influence of alcohol or
drugs and possession of a controlled substance.

That ordinance was modeled after one put in place by Cicero, a Chicago suburb.

Towed vehicles would be released after a payment of $250 or $500, depending
on the offense, to the city. Towing and storage fees also would have to be
paid to a towing company, along with a $10 release fee.