Carpentersville school bus drivers given a reprieve to park at home

A group of Carpentersville school bus drivers who were banned earlier this summer from parking buses at home have been granted permission to once again keep the buses in their driveways until a judge rules on the case.

Kane County Judge Bruce Lester on Friday issued a temporary restraining order barring the village from enforcing a heavy vehicle ordinance against five drivers for Barrington Unit District 220 who drive special needs students to and from school. The agreed order prohibits the village from taking any action against the drivers until the next court date scheduled for Oct. 5.

"We are so happy and are just hoping for continued luck," said Marie Taillon, whose son Stephen Ratke - a passenger - is also named in the complaint. "We are so relieved. I hope it keeps going in our favor because the village is wrong."

Residents have received $150 tickets since June, but those fines remain unresolved until a judge's decision, the plaintiff's attorney John Juergensmeyer said.

In the 14-page complaint, residents categorized the village's action in excluding school buses as "arbitrary, intentionally discriminatory against disabled persons, and had a disparate impact on disabled persons or created an undue hardship on disabled persons," all in violation of state and federal law.

Assistant Village Manager Dawn Wucki-Rossbach acknowledged the village attorney had received the documents but would not elaborate further.

"The village's official statement is that the village attorney has received a copy of the injunction filing and will be filing a response shortly," she said.

Village attorney James Rhodes did not return calls for comment Friday.

Trustees in June increased the maximum vehicle weight from 8,000 pounds to 10,000 pounds after residents complained the limitation restricted large passenger vehicles, work trucks and vans, as well as buses.

The original ordinance passed in 1995 was intended to discourage the use of scrappers - pickup trucks and other large vehicles that are modified to haul loads of scrap metal and other materials. However, the village did not enforce the rule until late 2008. That's when bus drivers say they received warnings that their vehicles were in violation.

The plaintiffs petitioned the village board to exempt school buses, but trustees increased the limit to 10,000 pounds, requiring vehicles weighing between 8,000 pounds to 10,000 to display a special permit. The school buses involved weigh up to 14,000 pounds.

Village trustees and the village attorney said ignorance of the law was not a defense for failing to comply.