ORDINANCE DID NOT PASS
Title
Agenda Initiative - Mask Wearing Mandate
History
Per the Village Code, any individual Trustee can request that an initiative be placed on the Committee of the Whole agenda by instructing the Village Manager, either verbally or in writing, before noon on the Friday preceding the meeting, to place an item on the Committee of the Whole agenda. Village/Legal staff time is restricted until after at least three Trustees vote to move the 'Agenda Initiative' forward.
Agenda Initiatives include (1) the expenditure of money; (2) modifications to the Village Code; (3) formation/modification of Village policies; (4) the introduction of an ordinance or resolution; (5) the formation/modification of committees; (6) budget changes and/or (7) the appropriation of Village/Legal staff time.
Proposed Initiative
Trustee Calandriello has requested passing an ordinance requiring masks wearing inside public places in Orland Park. The ordinance would include enforcement at businesses, restaurants and retail locations located within the Village boundaries.
Mask Mandate
Since May of 2020, the Governor of the State of Illinois has had an executive order in effect which generally mandates that protective face coverings be worn by all individuals (over age two and medically able) when in a public place and unable to maintain a six-foot social distance.
Governor Pritzker recently issued an executive order imposing “Tier 3 mitigation measures” that increased protective COVID-19 related regulations and guidelines for the State, effective November 20, 2020.
At the December 7, 2020, Committee of the Whole meeting, an inquiry from Trustee Calandriello was approved directing staff to prepare an ordinance for consideration which requires protective face coverings to be worn in public within the Village of Orland Park.
Attached are two versions of the ordinance. The difference between the two versions are the penalty provisions, however, the foundation of each ordinance is the same:
The first option Ordinance A (attached), is silent regarding the change in penalty structure, and therefore carries a penalty of $250-$1000 as set forth in Appendix B of the Village Code.
The second option Ordinance B (attached), includes penalties set forth for each subsection, as the Village does not want any other subsections to be modified and the general penalty language in Appendix B excludes Title 8, Chapter 6 Offenses.
The third option is an ordinance drafted by Trustee Calandriello.
Recently, the City of Naperville undertook a similar review (see attached document). Their staff surveyed several other communities regarding face coverings. This survey has revealed that:
1. None of the communities surveyed employ police resources to enforce face covering
regulations against individuals.
2. Of those communities surveyed that are acting on face coverings, nearly all focus efforts on compliance through positive reinforcement and education rather than enforcement. Some
communities also have local health departments to assist with education, promotion, and compliance.
3. Most communities that have local face-covering regulations focus on business compliance, rather than compliance by individuals.
Based on the information gathered from other communities, Village staff, including the Police Chief, have concerns over uniformed police officers enforcing a mandatory protective face covering ordinance. This is primarily due to the already high call volume experienced by the Police Department and the potential for negative contacts between citizens and the Police Department. The Police Department spends significant time and energy creating positive relations with members of the community. The enforcement of a mandatory face-covering ordinance will not only divert police resources, but may also adversely impact the positive community policing measures the department undertakes and place officers in potential conflict situations.
Additionally, the CDC outlines situations whereupon a person should not wear a mask. These include:
• Children younger than 2 years old
• Anyone who has trouble breathing
• Anyone who is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance
• Wearing masks may be difficult for some people with sensory, cognitive, or behavioral issues. If they are unable to wear a mask properly or cannot tolerate a mask, they should not wear one, and adaptations and alternatives should be considered
The Police Chief would prefer that police officers not have to engage in medical or behavioral assessments to determine if a mask should be worn.
Per an additional request from Trustee Calandriello, Police Chief Mitchell contacted the New Lenox Police Department to inquire about their mask mandate (the attached draft Orland Park Ordinances was modeled on New Lenox's ordinance). Per the New Lenox Police Department, their ordinance was passed on November 23rd and went into effect December 1st. They have not issued any warnings or tickets to date.
Additional Trustee Inquiries
Concerning this matter, Trustee Milani asked staff to provide answers to the following questions:
1. What are the recommendations from the WHO and the CDC regarding masks?
2. In Cook County and Will County (Regions 7 and10), how many outbreaks have there been per location type since the start of data collection?
Further, Trustee Healy requested staff to provide answers to the following questions:
3. How does Illinois compare to Florida, Georgia, New York, California, and the country of Sweden with rates of infection and death rate including per capita information. Additionally, the mitigation measures each state is taking to limit the virus.
The PowerPoint presentation responding to these additional inquiries is attached with this staff report.
Original Motion:
(ONLY READ ORDINANCE OPTION SELECTED)
I move to select Ordinance A;
OR,
I move to select Ordinance B;
OR,
I move to select Ordinance C;
And,
I move to pass Ordinance Number ______________entitled: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 8, CHAPTER 8, SECTION 8-6-1-1 (DISORDERLY CONDUCT) OF THE ORLAND PARK VILLAGE CODE.
Financial Impact
Village and Legal staff time
Recommended Action/Motion
I move to select Ordinance C;
And,
I move to pass Ordinance Number 5575, entitled: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 8, CHAPTER 8, SECTION 8-6-1-1 (DISORDERLY CONDUCT) OF THE ORLAND PARK VILLAGE CODE.