CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Pass the Due Process and Municipal Property Ordinance
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DEPARTMENT: Legal Department
SUBMITTED BY: Michael DiSanto, City Attorney
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
At its May 19, 2026 meeting, the City Council received a staff report concerning federal civil immigration enforcement activities and the public’s proposed “Due Process and Municipal Property Ordinance.” Following discussion and public comment, the Council voted 6-3 to direct staff to prepare and return an ordinance for passage at the June 2, 2026 meeting.
DISCUSSION:
The attached Due Process and Municipal Property Ordinance is a focused, home-rule measure that regulates only the City’s own property and personnel. It incorporates the following key elements:
• Recitals: Affirms the City’s official Mission Statement, core values of People, Trust, Respect, and Pride, the October 3, 2017 Mayoral Proclamation declaring Naperville “a Community of Unity and Acceptance,” the City’s commitment to protecting constitutional rights under the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments, home-rule authority under Article VII, Section 6 of the Illinois Constitution, and the principle that civil immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility.
• Affirmation of Rights and Values (Section 2): Reaffirms the City’s commitment to upholding constitutional protections and conducting City operations in full compliance with all applicable federal and state laws.
• Use of City Property (Section 3): To the maximum extent permitted by law, the City shall not designate, authorize, make available, or consent to the use of any City-owned and City-controlled parking lots, buildings, parks, or municipal facilities as a staging area, operations base, or processing site for civil immigration enforcement activities. The provision expressly preserves access pursuant to a valid judicial warrant or court order and for criminal law enforcement or as otherwise required by law.
• Use of City Personnel and Resources (Section 4): Declares that the City and its employees are committed to providing City services to all persons regardless of citizenship or immigration status and recognizes that civil immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility. Unless presented with a valid judicial warrant or court order (or otherwise required by law), the City and its employees shall not participate in federal civil immigration enforcement operations.
• Documentation (Section 5): Requires the City to develop and implement a process to document known instances in which City-owned and City-controlled parking lots, buildings, parks, or municipal facilities are used as a staging area, operations base, or processing site for civil immigration enforcement activities.
• Administrative Implementation, Savings Clause, Severability, and Effective Date (Sections 6-9): Authorizes the City Manager, in coordination with the City Attorney, to develop necessary internal policies and procedures; contains savings language ensuring nothing in the ordinance prohibits any action required by state or federal law or taken pursuant to a valid judicial warrant or court order; includes a severability clause; and provides that the ordinance takes effect upon passage and approval.
The ordinance is narrowly tailored to the City’s own actions and resources and contains multiple safeguards to avoid any conflict with federal authority. No first reading is required prior to the passage of this ordinance because it does not amend the Naperville Municipal Code.
FISCAL IMPACT:
N/A