ELMHURST, IL – A majority of Elmhurst aldermen agreed on Monday that backyard chickens have no place in town.
They voted 11-3 to keep the prohibition on chickens, with aldermen Jacob Hill, Michael Bram and Rex Irby as the dissenters.
Two years ago, Hill, along with aldermen Emily Bastedo and Chris Jensen, requested the council consider the chicken issue.
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More than a decade earlier, a similar effort fizzled out.
Last week, the city’s public safety committee recommended keeping the local ban on backyard chickens. Hill, a committee member, voted against the recommendation.
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In an interview Wednesday, Hill said the committee was presented with evidence showing that other suburbs, including neighbors Villa Park and Bensenville, have allowed chickens and made it work.
“There really wasn’t any solid evidence presented against it,” Hill said. “Food production and food security seem to be on an upward trend.”
He said aldermen may have ended the chicken ban if more residents championed doing so. He compared it to the debate over hoop houses – tents where food is grown during the winter.
An organized group of residents kept pushing the City Council to end the ban on such tents.
In 2019, the council majority resisted the pressure. Three years later, several aldermen switched their votes to end the ban.
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