Waukegan bans ceremonial balloon launches

Balloon releases will be a thing of the past in Waukegan starting April 1, and the City Council plans to consider banning the use of plastic bags along with Styrofoam containers as its next move toward becoming a more environmentally friendly community.

The council voted 6-3 Tuesday to prohibit the public release of balloons into the sky in an effort keep potential pollutants out of Lake Michigan and protect wildlife.

With the ban now law, the ordinance delays the effective date until April 1 to give city officials and community leaders the opportunity to educate the public about the reasons for the change and the need for compliance.

Ald. Lynn Florian, 8th Ward, who initially made proposals for such balloons, plastic bags and Styrofoam containers during a Dec. 11 Committee of the Whole meeting, said before the vote protecting the lake was a key concern.

Florian said after the balloons go into the air, they eventually fall back to Earth. Sometimes they land in Lake Michigan, where they degrade into micro plastics. She wants to prevent such pollution.

“If it goes into our lake, now we have micro plastics in our lake and we’re drinking that,” she said. “We are next to this huge, fresh body of water. That is one of the things we should always prioritize.”

Mayor Ann Taylor said she is also concerned about both the balloons, and the strings attached to them, descending into Lake Michigan. She also recognizes balloon launches are longtime popular activities with some in the community.

“This is something that has very much been a part of our culture, but the reality of it is many of these balloons end up in Lake Michigan with the strings attached, hurting our wildlife,” she said.

After the vote, Florian said she plans to ask Taylor to schedule consideration of the elimination of the use of plastic bags and Styrofoam containers when the Committee of the Whole meets Jan. 16 at City Hall. Taylor said after the meeting it will be on the agenda.

Ald. Jose G. Guzman, 2nd Ward, said he understands the reasoning for the action and the environmental importance, but wanted to allow people to continue to launch balloons for religious reasons.

“If somebody’s belief is a balloon goes to heaven, let it go to heaven,” he said. “When it comes to religion, it’s no, absolutely no. When it comes down to religion, that’s where I stop it.”

Though Guzman said he wanted an exemption for religious balloon releases, Kelley Gandurski, an attorney with corporation counsel Elrod Friedman, said she advised against it. She said should the ordinance give exemptions, it could lead to a legal challenge.

“When you start exempting for religions purposes, then people will want an exemption for First Amendment rights,” Gandurski said. “Once you start regulating the content on the reason you are releasing the balloon, that is where local governments get themselves into trouble with regard to constitutional claims filed against them.”

Though some council members were firmly against the balloon launch ban, much of the debate at the meeting was over how long to delay the effective date of the ordinance to educate the public.

At the urging of Ald. Edith Newsome, 5th Ward, Florian suggested an amendment to the proposed ordinance extending the education period two months. Council members voted 5-4 against the elongated delay.

Florian said she planned to begin the education process this week at a joint meeting of the city’s Faith Based Roundtable and Not for Profit Panel, letting the membership know the benefits of the ordinance and how it will impact the community.

“I intend to attend that meeting and start the conversation,” she said. “The city (also) has (plans) with the staff going out to funeral homes, churches, banquet halls and that type of thing.”

Taylor suggested the council members use their social media platforms and ward meeting to let the public know about the new law.

Joining Florian voting the for the ordinance were Ald. Juan Martinez, 3rd Ward, Ald. Victor Felix, 4th Ward, Ald. Keith Turner, 5th Ward, Ald. Michael Donnenwirth, 7th Ward and Ald. Thomas Hayes, 9th Ward.

Newsome said she voted against the final version of the law because she felt more education time was necessary. Guzman and Ald, Sylvia Sims Bolton, 1st Ward, also voted no.