Morris’ emergency declaration on migrant buses is now an ordinance

The Morris City Council voted unanimously Monday, Feb. 5, to adopt an ordinance restricting buses from unexpectedly dropping off passengers within the city.

The ordinance puts Morris in line with Grundy County, which declared itself a nonsanctuary county in December and posted electronic signs along Interstate 55 warning drivers of buses full of refugees from Mexico and Venezuela, shipped from Texas, to keep driving.

According to the declaration, which is now an ordinance, “the operator of any unscheduled intercity bus must make application for an approval to arrive and load/unload passengers in the city on an appropriate form made available by the city of Morris Police Department.”

According to the ordinance, unscheduled intercity bus services must be received by the city at least five full business days before the day the bus would arrive, and all applications need to include the proposed passenger list.

Operators also must perform background checks on each passenger older than 18 and provide copies to the chief of police.

Applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis, and no more than one application will be approved for a given date, time and location.

If an application is approved, buses can only unload passengers between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The location will be determined by the chief of police.

Violation of these ordinances will be met with a fine of $750.