Little Power Against Trespassers: Burr Ridge Official

BURR RIDGE, IL — Starting in July, police departments across Illinois will have little power to deal with trespassers, Burr Ridge's police chief said this week.

Last month, the state Legislature enacted a massive crime bill, which the governor is expected to sign.

At this week's Burr Ridge Village Board meeting, Chief John Madden said the bill would ban officers from taking into custody those charged with Class B and Class C misdemeanors.

In Illinois, Class B misdemeanors include trespassing. The only trespassing charge that reaches Class A is when someone trespasses on farmland.

Madden said that as long as suspected trespassers are not verbally threatening anyone, the police can do little to stop them from continuing to trespass under the bill.

"We can do nothing to take the person away. We can give the person a ticket. We can request that the person leave," the chief said. "That is the hard truth."

This applies to any place on a person's property, he said.