Chicago legal question re: trespassing, entering parks past closing time, etc. (long)

[Eva_Luna]

Over Memorial Day weekend, I had a friend visiting me from out of town. He is a huge photography and architecture buff, and wanted to get a bunch of pictures of the Chicago skyline from every possible angle.

On a friend’s recommendation, on Sunday night we drove him down to the Planetarium, which has some really nice views of downtown. We arrived a bit after midnight, and there were lots of people milling around; apparently some kind of black-tie event was letting out, plus apparently other people not in black tie also had similar ideas as we did about the skyline view.

As we pulled up to the Planetarium I saw the flashing lights of a police car, which had apparently pulled someone over. I figured it had nothing to do with us, and there didn’t seem to be any kind of commotion, so I pulled up to one of numerous open parking meters, parked, and went to take a look at the meter restrictions. There was a sign on the meter specifically stating that it was required to read the meters 24 hours a day.

As I took out some change to read the meter, and my boyfriend and our guest got out and started locking up the car, the police car drove up to us and the police officer told me we had to leave. I asked why, and he told me that the park had closed at 11 pm, and we weren’t allowed to be there. I asked him if that was the case, then a) why did the meter specifically state that it needed to be fed 24 hours a day? 2) why was he not chasing out any of the people coming out of the black-tie event, who were milling around aimlessly? And 3) what portion of that area was not part of the park? Because the 24 meters don’t make any sense if the area is supposed to be closed after 11 pm (nothing else in the area is open at that hour), and upon further research, the #12 Roosevelt city bus, which serves the Planetarium, runs nearly 24/7, and well outside the hours that Chicago parks are ostensibly closed. I told the officer that we just needed a few minutes so my out-of-town friend could snap some photos, and why couldn’t we be there if the meters were 24 hours? He was having none of it, expressed surprise that the meters were 24 hours, even after I read him the sign on the meter, told us that they made an exception for people attending events at the Planetarium (a friend of mine is a manager there, and she says they make a HUGE chunk of their budget renting it out for events), and chased us out.

Now presumably it’s not legal to arrest someone for literally waiting at a city bus stop during hours that the bus runs, or for parking a car at a meter during hours it’s specifically required to feed the meter. So did he have the legal authority to kick us out, or was he just being a jerk? Cites would be appreciated. (I wasn’t about to risk a disorderly conduct arrest, but the incident is still pissing me off – I’d like to operate under the delusion that Chicago is run by the rule of law.)

[Dinsdale]

Sorry I don’t have an answer, but you pose an interesting question. Whenever the parks close, I’d assume the streets operate 24/7 - unless there might be exceptions for portions of streets that pass through parks. I imagine the legal answer would have to do with the definition of a particular park’s boundaries.

I also wonder if there is a specific exemption for late night smelt fishermen in the spring?

My gut reaction is that you and your friend were in the right, but you were wise not to argue with a cop who appeared bent on being inflexible.

[Eva_Luna]

@Dinsdale

Sorry I don’t have an answer, but you pose an interesting question. Whenever the parks close, I’d assume the streets operate 24/7 - unless there might be exceptions for portions of streets that pass through parks. I imagine the legal answer would have to do with the definition of a particular park’s boundaries.

I also wonder if there is a specific exemption for late night smelt fishermen in the spring?

My gut reaction is that you and your friend were in the right, but you were wise not to argue with a cop who appeared bent on being inflexible.

BTW, obviously I meant feed the meter, not read the meter.

And yeah, I’ve been kicked out of parks more times than I can count for being there after closing time, but this was the first time I was actually standing on a sidewalk next to a parking meter that was still required to be fed, maybe 20 feet from a bus stop where at least one bus line was still running, and been told by a cop that I had to leave.

[Whack-a-Mole]

@Eva Luna

BTW, obviously I meant feed the meter, not read the meter.

And yeah, I’ve been kicked out of parks more times than I can count for being there after closing time, but this was the first time I was actually standing on a sidewalk next to a parking meter that was still required to be fed, maybe 20 feet from a bus stop where at least one bus line was still running, and been told by a cop that I had to leave.

I cannot see how the meters would trump park closing times. Probably easier to just put signage that says feed me 24/7 than to account for (possibly) varying park closing times or special events that are allowed.

As for the bus stop I don’t know if the bus still services that beyond park hours but again I suppose being on the sidewalk and passing through is not considered in the same realm as using the park.

[Eva_Luna]

@Whack-a-Mole

As for the bus stop I don’t know if the bus still services that beyond park hours but again I suppose being on the sidewalk and passing through is not considered in the same realm as using the park.

Chicago parks close at 11 pm. The bus (schedule linked above) runs into the wee hours, and starts up again after a short overnight break before parks reopen in the morning.

We would have been happy to take pictures from standing on the sidewalk, but that option was not offered to us.

[Cluricaun]

@Dinsdale

I also wonder if there is a specific exemption for late night smelt fishermen in the spring?

Smelt, perch, and salmon fishermen all tend to hit up choice spots like the Adler and behind Soldiers field all season long at the most bizarre hours on the clock. Generally it’s played out as catch as catch can but they can and will throw out fishermen if they feel like it. It’s really more for safety’s sake than for anything else. Usually they start to back off again around 4-4:30am.

However there aren’t really enough smelt left in the lake to make that a worthwhile pastime anymore.

[SCSimmons]

@Eva Luna

… I’d like to operate under the delusion that Chicago is run by the rule of law.)

I find your innocence refreshing and charming.

[Eva_Luna]

@SCSimmons

I find your innocence refreshing and charming.

Eh, not really - I mean come on, this is the city where the Mayor decided the runways at Meigs Field should be ripped up, and was tired of waiting for the legislature to come around to his way of thinking, so he just had it done in the middle of the night.

It was just weird to have my friend visiting and experience something like that; he was born in the Middle East, and here the U.S. thinks it is a society run by the rule of law, and criticizes carious countries in the Middle East for not behaving like it ostensibly does, but yeah, sometimes not so much.

[Vlad_Igor]

We were there at the Planetarium on Sunday, 6/8 and witnessed a CPD Sergeant get all officious with cars that had parked there. There were “No Parking” cones on the north side of the drive from the Planetarium curb to the bus shelter. There were cars parked on that side of the road further west toward the Shedd, and they also got ticketed. My impression was that they didn’t want any parking anywhere along that road, and with your experience, at any time of day.

Vlad/Igor

[Stringer]

I assume this was on Museum Campus Dr? Did you pass through any open gates on the way in?

From: http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/docs/bcodes/chapter07.pdf

Park Hours
No person shall be or remain or leave any vehicle in any part of any park which is fenced in
or provided with gates, between the closing of the gates at night and their reopening on the
following day; nor shall any person be or remain or leave any vehicle in any park not fenced
in or provided with gates, between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. on the following
day, except that:
a. persons and vehicles may pass through such parks without stopping on the more
direct walk or driveway leading from their point of entrance to the exit nearest to
their point of destination;
b. persons may pass through the parks without stopping to place or remove a vehicle
from a Park District garage or lot;
c. persons may occupy boats properly moored in Park District harbors and allow their
vehicles to remain at such time in Park District garages or lots designated by the
General for mooring permittees;
d. persons may pass through such parks without stopping to occupy a boat properly
moored in a Park District harbor;
e. persons and vehicles may pass through or occupy a park for a Park District
sponsored activity;
f. vehicles may remain in Park District garages or lots which by order of the General
Superintendent remain open after the park closing hours; and
g. persons may remain at the Millennium Park ice rink for events authorized or
permitted by the Park District until 1:00 a.m.

[pulykamell]

@Stringer

I assume this was on Museum Campus Dr? Did you pass through any open gates on the way in?

There’s no gates on Museum Campus Dr., except for at the lots. The drive itself is open and I can definitely confirm that the parking meters read “24 hours” on them, as I was there last week taking some pictures at around 9 p.m., and I was a little surprised because I don’t think I’ve ever seen 24hr parking meters in Chicago. Usually, the don’t need to be fed after either 6 p.m. or 9 p.m.

[Eva_Luna]

@Vlad/Igor

We were there at the Planetarium on Sunday, 6/8 and witnessed a CPD Sergeant get all officious with cars that had parked there. There were “No Parking” cones on the north side of the drive from the Planetarium curb to the bus shelter. There were cars parked on that side of the road further west toward the Shedd, and they also got ticketed. My impression was that they didn’t want any parking anywhere along that road, and with your experience, at any time of day.

Vlad/Igor

When I was there, there were no cones, gates, or other barriers at any point from when we exited Lake Shore Drive, just past Soldier Field, all the way around Museum Campus Drive until the Planetarium.

And yeah, I think that was also the first time I’d seen 24-hour parking meters in Chicago, or anywhere else for that matter.

[Dinsdale]

@Eva Luna

It was just weird to have my friend visiting and experience something like that; he was born in the Middle East, …

Well, you didn’t tell us you were with a potential terrorist - the very same reason Meigs needed to be torn up!

In my mind, your situation is the same as a street that passes by a park. For example, in my old neighborhood Portage Park is on the NE corner of Central and Irving Park. You certainly can drive down thse streets 24/7. I’d also assume you could park in any designated parking spaces there might be, or walk down the sidewalks. Of course, a 1 in the morning I think the strongest argument I’d present to a Chicago cop would be “Yes Sir!”

[Eva_Luna]

@Dinsdale

Well, you didn’t tell us you were with a potential terrorist - the very same reason Meigs needed to be torn up!

Born in the Middle East…not Middle Eastern. (His parents were living there when he was born.) Same with my boyfriend - he was born in Beirut, but is about as Anglo-Saxon as they come, as in practically had ancestors on the Mayflower. And no, the Chicago cops haven’t, in my experience, started random ID checks - yet - so they had no way of knowing where he was from.

In my mind, your situation is the same as a street that passes by a park. For example, in my old neighborhood Portage Park is on the NE corner of Central and Irving Park. You certainly can drive down thse streets 24/7. I’d also assume you could park in any designated parking spaces there might be, or walk down the sidewalks.

Yeah, that was my thought as well, but you can see how far it got us.

Of course, a 1 in the morning I think the strongest argument I’d present to a Chicago cop would be “Yes Sir!”

So I was more uppity and confrontational than you would have been? SCORE!

[Sigmagirl]

So did he have the legal authority to kick us out, or was he just being a jerk?

You’re asking the question wrong.
Why can’t both be true?

[Vlad_Igor]

I’ll throw out a WAG: when we were there (~6:00pm), a game of some sort at Soldier Field had just let out, and the main streets (e.g. Lake Shore Dr.) were clogged. At the time you were there, a happening at the Planetarium was just letting out. My WAG is that the beat cops on that shift had instructions to keep Museum Drive open to allow traffic flow out, regardless of what the normal parking rules are for the Millenium/Grant/Soldier Field area. Considering that there are two largish parking lots between the Shedd and Planetarium, and several buses that run up to the Planetarium and back out to Lake Shore Dr., I could see wanting to keep the street open at certain times.

Vlad/Igor

[MikeS]

My apartment backs onto a medium-sized park (about two square blocks) in a residential Chicago neighbourhood. During the summers, I’ll often hear police officers using a megaphone to get people out of the park at night: “This park is closed. Please leave the park.” However, it’s just as often that I’ll get noisy undergraduates or homeless folks waking me up at 1 AM, so enforcement appears to be somewhat spotty.

[Eva_Luna]

@Vlad/Igor

I’ll throw out a WAG: when we were there (~6:00pm), a game of some sort at Soldier Field had just let out, and the main streets (e.g. Lake Shore Dr.) were clogged. At the time you were there, a happening at the Planetarium was just letting out. My WAG is that the beat cops on that shift had instructions to keep Museum Drive open to allow traffic flow out, regardless of what the normal parking rules are for the Millenium/Grant/Soldier Field area. Considering that there are two largish parking lots between the Shedd and Planetarium, and several buses that run up to the Planetarium and back out to Lake Shore Dr., I could see wanting to keep the street open at certain times.

Vlad/Igor

There were people hanging around, but the street wasn’t exactly crowded - most of the meters were open, and there were maybe half a dozen cars actually in motion. This wasn’t a matter of crowd control. I didn’t see anyone entering or exiting any of the parking lots in that area.