Street preacher Christos Arvanitis can now legally return to his favorite street corner after Des Plaines dropped its case against him Thursday.
Arvanitis, 70, has been preaching on Des Plaines and Chicago streets in Greek, English and in song for about 20 years.
His recent choice of the heavily populated corner of River and Rand Roads led neighbors to complain to the city, which filed a disorderly conduct case against him last fall.
A restraining order was issued prohibiting Arvanitis from preaching on his favorite corner and using a megaphone within Des Plaines city limits. Meanwhile, the case has been delayed for months by a mental examination that proved Arvanitis competent and a religious-minded lawyer who volunteered to defend him.
Ald. Nick Chiropolos said that he asked aldermen in closed session a month ago to dismiss the case in an effort to cut legal expenses.
”Why spend all that money on a situation like this? There`s the 1st Amendment, and we`re sure to lose and it`s bad publicity,” Chiropolos said.
Arvanitis could not be reached for comment.
His supporter, Soterios ”Sam” Frentzas, said he believed divine intervention had won the case and said that Arvanitis might return to his corner as early as Friday.
”It was like a lost case and God turned it. I give the credit to God,”
Frentzas said.
Arvanitis` volunteer lawyer, Charles Hervas, a former Des Plaines alderman and Itasca`s village attorney, said that Arvanitis had never broken the law.
However, Tom Grogan, who lives near the corner, said that Arvanitis is a nuisance, and a danger and distraction for traffic.
”When I go back home, he`s going to be there screaming his head off, and I`m going to be stuck in my house,” he said.
