Anyone who regularly takes the el or subway has seen them.
But not everyone appreciates the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ presence at transit stations. Kevin Havener, an Edgewater resident who often commutes via the Red Line, contacted me to share a message he sent to the transit authority, to which he says he never got a response. He claimed that the Witnesses’ practice of offering literature inside el stations violated a guideline in the agency’s Rules of Conduct warning against the distribution of written materials on CTA property.
Hosinski directed me to guideline #23 of the CTA’s Rules of Conduct, and it was clear that Havener hadn’t read the document carefully enough. “Distributing of advertisements or any other written materials or soliciting or petitioning” is indeed prohibited on trains and buses, as well as in the “paid” areas of stations. But under the rule it’s permitted in the unpaid areas as long as it doesn’t impede pedestrian flow. So not only can religious groups proselytize inside stations, but the CTA even allows people to offer commuters flyers for appliance sales or hip-hop shows within el stops.
First off, the Fullerton attendant likely just didn’t know the rules. And based on a talk with Paul Schmidt, the coordinator for Jehovah’s Witnesses’ “Bible literature displays” in Chicago, it appears that the keys to being allowed to proselytize are being familiar with the rules, consistently showing up at the same stations day after day, and maintaining a pleasant demeanor.
That doesn’t mean that the volunteers don’t occasionally get static from train riders. “When you put your faith out there in a public setting, some people are going to disagree with you,” Schmidt said. “Some do it more vocally than others. We have the right to exercise our religion and freedom of speech, but everyone around us does too, so that’s just part of the deal.”
