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Ward 5 Ald. Sam Cahnman says that although downtown
panhandling doesn’t faze him, he’s willing to step up on behalf
of those for whom it’s an issue. “People have expressed it to me as a
problem,” Cahnman says. “Some people are bothered by it — Downtown Springfield
[Inc.] with all of its business members, they are the experts on
what’s going on downtown, and they believe it’s not good for
the downtown community.”
After working out the kinks with DSI, Cahnman
introduced a new panhandling ordinance that was approved by members of the
city’s finance committee on Tuesday night. The measure will move on
for full debate at next week’s Springfield City Council meeting. The new ordinance states that panhandling is fully
prohibited in the downtown historic district, an area of public property
that includes the Statehouse complex. Those in violation of the ordinance
will be fined $25 to $100 or be required to serve eight to 40 hours of
community service. Cahnman says that the penalty of community service
makes more sense for panhandlers who have limited or no income. “Someone who violates a panhandling offense
obviously doesn’t have much money, so it would be difficult for them
to pay a fine,” he says. “This is something those convicted of
panhandling can do and they would be engaging in legitimate
work.”
The current panhandling ordinance prohibits the
practice from sunset to sunrise throughout Springfield, but Victoria
Clemons, executive director of DSI, says that she came on board when this
measure ceased to alleviate the problem.
Several downtown business owners, especially those
who receive most of their patrons during the late-afternoon hours, have
complained about an increase in panhandling, Clemons says.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Clemons told committee
members that a ghost-walk tour guide noticed more aggressive panhandling,
with several people following his group or shouting profanities. The guide
brought it to her attention, she said, after families began leaving the
tour and walking away. Clemons said that she called on downtown-neighborhood
police officer Dave Barringer for assistance and, after much research,
modeled the new ordinance after a successful Orlando, Fla., law that
prohibits panhandling only in the commercial district. This measure does
not challenge freedom of speech, Clemons says, as a proposal to ban
panhandling citywide would. Barringer, who has worked in the downtown area for
nine years, agreed Tuesday that the ordinance would allow the police
department to run panhandlers out of the downtown area without violating
their First Amendment rights. “I would rather have it citywide, personally,
but I think you’re going to lose it under your freedom of
speech,” Barringer said. “It’s like the KKK coming to
town — you don’t want them in your town, but they’re
going to have the right to come here if they want to, whether you like it
or not.”
Despite the possibility of a constitutional
violation, several aldermen expressed concerns that the ban would not
affect all of Springfield. “Why just this district?” Ward 6 Ald.
Mark Mahoney asked, “so they can easily go a few blocks away and
panhandle on South Grand?”
Mahoney also said that a problem could arise if
panhandlers filtered into neighborhoods and solicited residents on their
sidewalks. When Ward 2 Ald. Gail Simpson expressed similar
views, Ward 8 Ald. Kris Theilen, who is harassed by panhandlers during his
walk to work, said that he was willing to fight for a citywide measure
after Cahnman’s ordinance is approved.
“I will support you if you want to go citywide
and let them challenge us,” Theilen said. “Let’s get this
one on the books first, but then I have no problem going citywide with it.
I’ve been hit up enough that I’m sick of it.”
Contact Amanda Robert at arobert@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 1, 2007.
