Politics & Government
Council Seeks to Strike Public Intoxication from City Code
Naperville's current municipal code on public drunkeness was not constitutional but council members viewed amended language as too broad.
Although the Naperville City Council was presented with language amending the city’s code for public intoxication, council members found it to be too broad and unnecessary.
The council was hearing the proposed amended language for the first time during its meeting Tuesday night but, in the end, voted to ask legal council to revise the ordinance to delete public intoxication from the municipal code altogether. The council will take up the matter at its next meeting.
The new language was brought to the council because the current municipal code was unconstitutional, said Attorney Margo Ely. The new language would have tied public intoxication to another act that was committed.
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The code was enacted in 1973 and, according to the city documents, the ordinance remains in the municipal code, but is not enforceable since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibiting criminalizing a person’s status, such as being an alcoholic or drug addict.
The amended language would have read:
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"It shall be unlawful for any person in an intoxicated condition to engage in any behavior which causes a disturbance of the peace, including, but not limited to, making or creating loud noises so as to cause a disturbance of the peace, acting in an unruly or generally threatening manner in the presence of any person including a police officer, refusing to follow the instructions of a police officer, or otherwise disturbs the peace in any public place, highway or alley.
"For the purposes of this section, 'intoxicated condition' shall mean a diminished ability to act with full mental and physical capabilities because of alcohol or drug consumption."
Council members took issue with the language, particularly making or creating loud noises causing a disturbance of the peace and the description of an intoxicated condition meaning a diminished ability to act with full mental and physical capabilities because of alcohol or drug consumption.
The concerns were that any person who was loud or obnoxious might be cited and also that there was no standard for public intoxication written out in the language. Whereas, .08 is considered driving under the influence there is no standard per se in the language.
Councilman Bob Fiesler found the proposed language to be too broad and called the code a “bullying law.”
“I, frankly, don’t think we need this ordinance at all,” he said. “… the best thing we can do is just to strike it in its entirety.”
Other counselors agreed saying that having one beer might cause someone to be considered publicly intoxicated. Councilman Grant Wehrli said he was fairly certain there were days he got out of bed and wasn’t acting on full mental capabilities.
When officers are out patrolling on weekends when there are hundreds of people out and things can get disorderly, the ordinance would come into play, said a representative from the police department.
Members of the council said that there seemed to be other enforcement options at officers disposal, such as obstructing or interfering with an officer.
The council voted to revise the ordinance to delete public intoxication from the municipal code and to bring it back in two weeks in case anyone wants to object to removing the language.
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