The Village of Schaumburg was informed that an unspecified entity was considering several suburban hotels, including 3 in Schaumburg, to house migrants. Research revealed that it is a private party that is working to organize this for the purpose of then contracting with a government entity to house migrants at these hotels. Obviously, this is a concern given the current circumstances regarding migrant housing in the City of Chicago and the lack of a comprehensive plan for services that migrants may require (education, health care, job placement, immigration, transportation, etc).

Pres. Dailly spoke with Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens and learned about an ordinance that Rosemont passed to establish a tax on long-term stays at hotels for the purpose of protecting the economic viability of the hospitality industry and ensuring local revenue generation for the village, if such a migrant housing plan was executed. The tax is applied to stay of 30 days or more, is in the amount of $1,000/month (or any pro-rated portion thereof), and has an exemption for corporate entities (e.g. airlines) that house employees. The Rosemont ordinance is enclosed for review.

Pres. Dailly requested that legal counsel draft a similar ordinance for Schaumburg and schedule a special meeting of the Village Board to consider it. The Village Attorney has drafted the attached ordinance for the consideration of the Village Board. The ordinance includes the $1,000/month tax for stays of 30 days or more.

Legal counsel has advised that the exemption for businesses in the Rosemont ordinance could be problematic from a legal standpoint. In addition, the village has an exception in the current ordinance to allow a hotel to provide emergency or transitional housing/shelter beyond the 29-day requirement to assist residents with emergency situations (domestic abuse, fire, other catastrophe, etc.). The proposed ordinance drafted by legal counsel has an allowance for up to 10% of the total occupancy of the hotel to maintain this exemption.