Panhandling from street medians and in crosswalks could soon be against the law in Elgin under a proposed ordinance tentatively approved Wednesday night by the Elgin City Council.
Solicitation, like panhandling or raising money for charities, is protected by the First Amendment as a form of freedom of speech. The pending city ordinance addresses the issue from another angle by banning medians and crosswalks as a location for public forums or activities, officials said.
The rule change is narrowly focused to address the dangers presented when people stand in the road to ask for or collect money. A final vote on the measure will be taken next month.
Councilman Steven Thoren brought the issue to the city manager’s office after witnessing a man in a wheelchair almost get hit by a car while on a median on Route 31.
In another incident, he witnessed a truck driver give a man a few dollars while standing on a median only for the money to end up blowing into traffic, Thoren said. The man went to retrieve the cash and was almost hit by a car, he said.
The Elgin council has been reluctant to curb solicitation on roadways because the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 439 holds an annual “Fill the Boot” campaign to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The firefighters’ campaign is one of the most successful of those held for MDA.
Thoren said he when approached Local 439 officials about his concerns, they recognized that prohibiting such activities would increase safety and they agreed to alter their “Fill the Boot” promotion so it would no longer be conducted from medians and crosswalks, Thoren said.
“We can address this as a safety measure because if one person does get struck and killed, not only is it a loss of life, but I’m sure we will (be told) we should’ve banned it,” Thoren said.
Council members Tish Powell and Rose Martinez have brought up the issue in recent years. City Manager Rick Kozal said there has been a “shifting landscape” that prompted them to look at it again.
First Amendment issues are very complicated, City Attorney Christopher Beck said. What he found when researching the subject, he said, was that by declaring medians not be used for public forums by pedestrians, solicitations from them can be banned without violating anyone’s First Amendment rights, he said.
The number of reported accidents at Elgin intersections where solicitation occurred increased by more than 60% in nearly a decade, going from 114 incidents in 2015 to 184 in 2024, city data showed.
“This marked increase in accidents indicates the need for regulatory action to drive down the incidence of pedestrians being injured or killed by vehicles,” Kozal said.
Powell said she has seen more people soliciting up and down Randall Road, where drivers are going 50 to 60 mph.
“Kudos to staff for being creative and looking for a way that protects” the integrity of the city’s roads and pedestrians, Powell said.
Among the intersections most often used for solicitation are those at Big Timber Road and McLean Boulevard, Dundee Avenue and Kimball Street, Summit Street and Liberty Street, Highland Avenue and Lyle Avenue, and Highland Avenue and Route 31, officials said.
Chief Ana Lalley said that once the ordinance is approved, Elgin police would start educating the community about it.
“People need to know what’s going on,” Lalley said. “We would go out there and tell the person (who is soliciting that) they need to leave and provide education for what would happen if they continued to violate the ordinance.”
After an initial warning, the police would issue tickets to anyone who breaks the rule again, she said. Repeat offenders could face misdemeanor charges, she said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.