Schaumburg follows Rosemont's lead with tax to deter long-term migrant housing at hotels
Schaumburg trustees on Tuesday followed Rosemont's example of imposing a tax of $1,000 per month on hotel stays of 30 days or more to deter the village's room inventory from being chosen as a long-term solution for the temporary housing of migrants.
The move responded to information Schaumburg officials said they'd received that three hotels in their community were being eyed as part of a suggested suburban effort to relieve some of the pressure Chicago is facing.
In initiating the tax earlier this month, Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens referred to a Nov. 3 article in Crain's Chicago Business about a plan by Chicago developer Mike Reschke to get six to eight suburban hotels to host thousands of new migrant arrivals.
Schaumburg borrowed not only Rosemont's idea, but much of the language from its ordinance.
However, some of Rosemont's exemptions for corporate entities - such as airlines and the Chicago Wolves - were cut and replaced with a provision that up to 10% of a hotel's capacity could still be used for the assistance of residents needing shelter after fires or other emergency situations beyond 29 days.
Schaumburg Village Manager Brian Townsend said he knows migrants who had arrived earlier already have found longer-term housing in the community, and the goal of the hotel tax is not to keep them from coming to Schaumburg.
"We want to make sure it's done in a planned and responsible way," he said. "We've developed a solution we think works."
"The goal here is to protect our hotels," Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly added.
Because the village owns the Renaissance Hotel adjoining the Schaumburg Convention Center, it contracts staff members with an eye toward potential effects on the local hospitality industry, officials said.
Trustee Jack Sullivan asked that a review of the measure be referred to the planning, building and development committee he chairs early next year, clarifying that he wasn't seeking to defer approval until then.
"I think it would be a good idea to keep an eye on it and see how it's working and where we're going," he said.