An anti-abortion group is challenging the City of Oak Forest’s right to regulate demonstrations even after the city modified its rules to make it quicker and easier to obtain permits.
The city passed the ordinance, said Mayor Patrick Gordon, to maintain order and ensure the safety of its residents. But members of Vote Life America say their free-speech rights have been restricted because of the nature of their message.
“Of course we would never want to do anything disruptive, but it is very important that we have the opportunity to voice our public opinion,” said Jim Finnegan of Barrington, founder of the group.
Vote Life America seeks to target for publicity those elected officials who support abortion. Finnegan has been involved in the anti-abortion movement for 29 years.
The group last month challenged the constitutionality of the ordinance–which required a permit for demonstrations and a waiting period–in Cook County Circuit Court and received a temporary restraining order against the city allowing it to demonstrate Oct. 27. About 30 members participated in the protest, waving large placards with pictures of live and aborted fetuses, in front of Rep. Maggie Crotty’s office at 15028 S. Cicero Ave. The group contends Crotty (D-Oak Forest) is pro-abortion.
“People are going to feel differently once in a while with my stand on an issue,” Crotty said. “This group does.
“To say [I’m] pro-abortion is very misleading,” Crotty said. “Nobody is pro-abortion.” Crotty said she is pro-choice.
Amid the controversy, the city rescinded the ordinance, which officials admitted was vague, but passed new regulations for demonstrations.
At a court hearing earlier this month, Medard Narko, Oak Forest’s attorney, said the constitutionality issue was moot because the city had done away with its old ordinance. But Thomas Brejcha, Vote Life’s attorney, said the new ordinance is similarly restrictive.
Brejcha is amending his complaint to include the new ordinance, though Judge Bernetta Bush said she didn’t think the group had a case unless they were restricted by that ordinance as well. The case has been continued to Feb. 6.
“I do believe the old issues are moot,” Bush said. “Until something happens under the new ordinance … I think you probably do not have matters this court could resolve.”
The city’s original ordinance was only several paragraphs and required groups to seek a permit 30 days in advance and await a decision by the City Council and mayor. The new ordinance, which is eight pages, requires a permit 21 days in advance for groups expected to exceed 50 or more people, though it allows applicants with a “good and compelling cause” to receive a permit with less notice.
Narko said the city’s new ordinance is similar to ones used by surrounding municipalities, though Finnegan said other areas have been more flexible about forgoing the permit requirement. Much of the ordinance was modeled after one in Skokie that requires only 14 days’ advance notice.
“The criteria set forth here seem as vague, overbroad and therefore unconstitutional as the old ordinance,” Brejcha said. “You’re limited to one demonstration a year … does that mean we start new under the new ordinance? The city is trying to suppress their message.”
An attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union said most such ordinances allow for special circumstances.
“As a general matter, most ordinances that require permits for expressive activity have a timeline in them, but they also tend to have exceptions for matters that come up at the last minute,” said Jane Whicher of the ACLU. Gordon said the new ordinance is fair. He said the problem arose because the group didn’t want to obtain a permit.
“They were saying basically that we didn’t have a right to regulate them. They were objecting to getting any permit at all,” he said.
Though Gordon said he simply expected the group to follow the rules, some residents were not happy with the demonstration. “We had a lot of complaints because they were holding large pictures of aborted fetuses,” Gordon said.
