Hanover Park board schedules special meeting to weigh ordinance, resolution on ICE activity after hours of public comment

HANOVER PARK, Ill. — After more than an hour of public testimony and lengthy trustee debate, the Hanover Park Village Board voted to hold a special meeting to draft and compare an ordinance and a resolution that would limit immigration-enforcement activity on village-owned property.

The board amended and approved a motion to hold the special meeting Friday, Nov. 14, at 4:00 p.m. The action followed repeated public pleas for stronger, enforceable protections after residents and business owners described fear, missed work and family trauma they linked to recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions in and near the village.

Multiple residents urged an ordinance rather than a nonbinding resolution. “This is not about opinions. This has to be about action,” said Ryan Runyon, who said safety equals action and urged the board to enact law rather than a symbolic statement. Gabriela Banonos, who identified herself as a longtime resident and business owner, told the board she feared for her children and described family members taken without warrants; she called for “fairness” and a clearer pathway to citizenship for immigrant families.

Trustees debated legal advice they had sought.…