Michael Dumiak and Christopher Simmons have been harassed, ticketed, and prosecuted by Downers Grove authorities when the men stood on a raised median strip seeking donations from people in vehicles stopped at the intersection of Butterfield and Finley roads. They have not caused safety or traffic problems. Firefighters and others use that median in the same manner to raise money for charitable organizations, but they are not ticketed or prosecuted. 

Mr. Dumiak and Mr. Simmons have been charged under an Illinois statute that makes it a misdemeanor to stand on a median to solicit contributions, employment, business, or rides from passing vehicles. The statute does not prohibit other interactions with drivers and passengers, such as gathering petition signatures or distributing leaflets. It allows municipalities to exempt certain charities from the law, even as local police enforce it against individuals who ask for money for their own use. A Downers Grove ordinance similarly prohibits standing on a median strip to solicit funds from vehicles, but expressly exempts some charitable solicitation.

Joined by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) and lawyers at Schiff Hardin, we are challenging this practice as a violation of our clients’ First Amendment rights.

A 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling made it clear that most laws targeting panhandlers are unconstitutional. Although the case (Reed v. Town of Gilbert) was not about panhandling, the Supreme Court clarified that government regulation of speech based on its subject matter or purpose is almost always unconstitutional. Since Reed was decided, panhandling ordinances across the nation have been repealed or struck down by courts. 

In January 2020, the Illinois State Police and the DuPage County States Attorney’s Office agreed to a temporary injunction stopping them from enforcing the roadside panhandling ban while our lawsuit moves forward.

In July 2020, the federal district court rejected a request by Downers Grove to dismiss the lawsuit and shield their officers from accountabilty, finding that the ticketing and harassment of our clients was “flagrantly unconstitutional.”  

In January 2021, the federal district court struck down the state law prohibiting panhandling in public streets and medians and ordered Illinois State Police not to enforce it.


Read more about our campaign to repeal unconsititutional panhanding ordinances around illinois

Attorney(s)

Rebecca Glenberg (ACLU of Illinois), Diane O'Connell, Arturo Hernandez, Patricia Nix-Hodes (Law Project of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless), Everett J. Cygal, Christopher L. Gerardi Jr. (Schiff Hardin LLP)

Date filed

August 20, 2019

Court

Federal District Court – Northern District of Illinois

Status

Decided