Update: Aurora, IL asked to rescind eviction of registrants at Wayside Cross

UPDATE 2: A suit has now been filed; this report comes from Illinois Voices.

Mark Weinberg and Adele Nicholas filed suit against the city of Aurora July 19 in the US District Court for the Northeastern District of Illinois Eastern Division:
This case is filed on behalf of 19 named individuals in the suit who are being forced to move from the Wayside Cross Ministries facility due to its supposed 500 foot proximity to a “playground.”  18 plaintiffs were given until July 26, 2019 to move out and one until August 15, 2019.
The City of Aurora is being challenged on First Amendment rights and for declaratory judgment. See complaint here.

By Will M . . . Although a lawsuit has not yet been filed in this case, attorneys have agreed to represent 19 individuals who have been told by the city of Aurora that they have to move out of their residence at Wayside Cross Ministries within 30 days or face prison time for violating the sex offender registration act. The city said they had been incorrectly measuring distance, and now that they have corrected their methods, Wayside falls within 500 feet of both a playground and a daycare. Wayside is contending that the distance from the building that is the residence hall is more than 500 feet away from both, but the city is measuring from the line of the property that also includes a  chapel and a resale store located in a separate building on the same parcel. The buildings have different addresses but are all owned by Wayside Cross.

The attorneys sent a letter to the Aurora police department (who issued the eviction letters) asking them to rescind the order. An attorney for the city responded, saying that the letter was not an eviction letter but simply notice that the men were in violation of the law by residing too close to a playground and daycare. The city maintains that it is not the city that will enforce the law, but rather the state’s attorney.

Wayside Cross Ministries has retained an attorney to represent its interests, while Ms. Nicholas and Mr. Weinberg are representing the interests of the 19 individuals who have been told to move. The attorneys are in conversation with each other to figure out the best way for them to work together on this issue.

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