Aurora gives OK to immigration rights group march

An Aurora immigration rights group's May Day March will go on as planned Saturday, and the city is even picking up the approximately $10,000 cost to hire extra police officers to monitor the route.

Aldermen voted 9-2 Tuesday in favor of activist Jose Luis Del Bosque and as many as many as 2,000 members of his Stand and March organization marching through Aurora Saturday in support of immigration reform.

"I'm very happy because it's finally come to the point where the city is assisting us and we're marching," Del Bosque said after the vote.

Del Bosque's group has organized yearly protests since 2003. More than 9,000 turned out for a 2006 march held in Aurora.

This year, he's expecting about 2,000 marchers in light of recent legislation approved in Arizona that allows police officers to confirm immigration status during traffic stops and other arrests.

With Tuesday's approval, the group was cleared to leave St. Nicholas Catholic Church at 308 High Street at 10 a.m. Saturday and proceed to Illinois Avenue and finish with an hourlong rally at McCullough Park before heading east to participate in a similar march in Naperville at 12:30 p.m.

Park officials originally balked at the end location, concerned marchers would interfere with summer program registration.

That concern was addressed with a slight reroute into the park.

The last obstacle was the approximately $10,000 cost to hire about 25 extra police officers to monitor the route.

Del Bosque initially thought the $10,000 price tag might be too much for his organization to spend, should they be deemed responsible, but city officials confirmed Tuesday that taxpayers are on the hook for those costs because the march is a protected action under the First Amendment's freedom to assemble.

"We're chalking it up to the cost of doing business." special events coordinator Gina Moga said. "It's our responsibility."

Fourth Ward Alderman Rick Lawrence and Ninth Ward Alderman Leroy Keith pointed to the overtime cost when voting against issuing the permit.

Both said the marchers could have worked with the city more closely and agreed to march on a less populated route or have a stationary rally at Phillips Park.

"We've changed our Fourth of July events to Friday to make it less expensive and to not incur overtime by our police officers and that's a celebration of our country as well as freedom of speech," Lawrence said. "Any citizen has the right to protest and stand up and say what's right and wrong, but you should be working with us in a time where we're trying not to have a lot of overtime and incur these costs."

Police officials said the cost may not change much if protesters rallied instead of marching because police would be needed regardless but said there definitely would be fewer traffic hassles on other routes.

Del Bosque said the groups needs the visibility afforded by the approved route, which was also provided by the city in 2006.

"It's not the best route. I wanted (to march on) Broadway. I wanted (to march in front of) City Hall," Del Bosque said. "But I'm trying to work with you by staying on a route this council has approved most recently."

Moving forward, Del Bosque was told the city wants at least two months' notice for future marches.