By: Anna Dellit
Edited By: Patrick Ales and Renan Dennig
Homelessness is often treated as a social dilemma, placing the responsibility on non-profits, donations, shelters, and volunteers. However, there is a legal aspect that must be considered when looking at how a city responds to its homeless population. When examining the criminalization of the homeless and the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic within Chicago, it is important to note how legislation and court cases have shaped these issues. One form of criminalizing the homeless occurs when actions such as camping, storing items, or sleeping in public areas are made illegal and ticketed. By fining actions that are often caused by a lack of resources, financial or otherwise, the legal system criminalizes homelessness and in effect creates an unending cycle of poverty and disparity. Additionally, this cycle was further aggravated by the pandemic: Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing estimated 21,000 Chicago households and almost 542,000 renters could be at risk of eviction. Homelessness in Chicago during the pandemic affects families of color at a higher rate. A study found that while 69% if Black and 63% of Hispanic households reported financial problems, only 33% of white households report similar concerns in comparison.[1] To address these concerns, the City of Chicago had to examine their former anti-homeless ban on panhandling, eviction bans, and how the criminalization of homelessness affects future housing opportunities. The courts and government intervention play a major role in rectifying the matter.
In the past year, a federal district judge in Chicago found Illinois’s aggressive panhandling laws to be unconstitutional. Panhandling is the act of stopping people on the street or in motorized vehicles asking for money or aid. Prior to these laws being found unconstitutional, those who engaged in panhandling could be fined or ticketed. Advocacy groups for Chicago’s homeless population found that “Violations of Chicago’s ordinance carry a $50 fine for the first or second offense within a year. The fine doubles for a third or subsequent offense within a 12-month period.”[2] In effect, this criminalized and further isolated already marginalized groups. Banning panhandling was found unconstitutional as it violates their freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment. Two men experiencing homelessness, Michael Dumiak and Christopher Simmons “sued after they were repeatedly ticketed and fined for asking passing motorists for help at a suburban Chicago intersection, while charities and religious groups collected donations at the same location without consequence.”[3] The specific targeting of those affected by or experiencing homelessness contributes to the anti-homeless attitude in the city. In reality, Dumiak never intended to break the law, and neither do many others who panhandle on streets and medians: “Some of us are just out here because we need help, especially during this hard time with COVID-19. I can’t find a job right now.”[4] Chicago’s decision to decriminalize panhandling was not isolated or independent, but rather followed the 2015 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Reed v. Town of Gilbert.[5] While the intent of the case was to end the ban of outdoor signs without a permit in Gilbert, Arizona, the case “rearticulated the standard for when regulation of speech is content based. This determination has already had a large impact on cases involving panhandling regulations and is likely to result in the invalidation of the majority of this nation’s panhandling laws.”[6]
While the criminalization of panhandling has been rectified, street sweeps and the displacement of people affected by homelessness have persisted. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, Legal Council for Health Justice, and other partnering organizations released a letter to the City of Chicago asking to put a moratorium on camp sweeps as recommended by the CDC: “homeless encampments should not be evicted during the COVID-19 pandemic unless the city can offer individual housing units to people experiencing homelessness.”[7] Street sweeps disrupt those living in camp communities by constantly relocating individuals to unfamiliar or unsafe areas. Chicago Coalition for the Homeless found in their investigation that “In the past few months, we have witnessed City crews threaten to ticket people for sleeping on the sidewalk in Uptown, force elderly and disabled people to move their property in the middle of the winter for no apparent reason, bulldoze a tent city while seizing tents that looked almost new and recently occupied, and attempt to seize the tent of a homeless man who was present and asserting that the tent belonged to him.”[8] Chicago advocacy organizations for tent communities, like Tent City Organizers, have filed many lawsuits against the City of Chicago regarding the unconstitutionality of street sweeps. They claim that “the city was violating the homeless people’s First Amendment rights by not allowing them to assemble in their tents and use their tents as symbols of protest of the city’s housing policies; their Fourth Amendment rights by seizing and discarding their property; their Fifth Amendment rights because the homeless people didn’t receive a hearing before having their property confiscated; and their Eighth Amendment rights by effectively criminalizing homelessness.”[9] Unfortunately, the suit was dismissed by Circuit Court Judge Sidney Schenkier on the basis that the camps did not constitute “expression” as stated in the First Amendment. Additionally, because plaintiff Andy Thayers, a representative of Uptown Tent City Organizers, is not himself homeless, the claims to the other amendments are invalid.[10] For now the displacement and disruption of those affected by homelessness continues to be legal in Chicago, but organizations continue to fight the legality of the practices.
Another major effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is eviction bans. In June 2020, the COVID-19 Eviction Protection Ordinance was approved and put in place by Chicago’s City Council. This ordinance greatly protected those who were unable to pay their rent due to being laid off or losing primary sources of income due to the pandemic, but there was an an expiration date of October 3, 2021.[11] Even with no end in sight to the pandemic, it does not appear that the eviction moratorium will be reinstated. This follows the August Supreme Court opinion in Alabama Association of Realtors v. Department of Health and Human Services [12], where the “majority of justices on the Court agreed that ordering a nationwide moratorium on evictions was not within the authority of the Centers for Disease Control.”[13] While many families scrambled in preparation for the end of the eviction ban, relief is offered in the form of rental assistance. Unfortunately, many report the application is too extensive and confusing and are unable to access the fund.[14] The end of the ban on evictions is a terrifying wake-up call for many Americans; “According to a survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, an estimated 60,000+ Illinoisans say they are likely to face eviction in the next two months.”[15] The pandemic has further exacerbated the homeless situation in Chicago. With the influx of people transitioning onto the streets, Chicago’s local government must be more lenient and compassionate when dealing with the situation.
One step towards equality and inclusivity towards Chicago’s homeless population was the passing of the Public Housing Access Bill in January through the Illinois General Assembly. With this piece of legislation “Illinois became the first state in the nation to remove long-standing barriers that have prevented many people with criminal convictions from living in public housing.”[16] This is important because according to Taylor de Laveaga of The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, "having a criminal record makes you ineligible for many housing programs [...] Even a history of police interaction, which is common for people experiencing homelessness, can support a housing provider's decision to deny admission."[17] The bill sets a limit of 6 months for how far back public housing authorities can look back into a future tenant's criminal record and limits the power public housing authorities have to deny housing solely based on criminal history. In the past, “experiencing homelessness is closely connected to a decline in physical and mental health. For people with criminal records, the risk of homelessness is staggering, and it only increases their likelihood of further interaction with the criminal legal system. More than 25 percent of people experiencing homelessness report being arrested for an activity that was directly related to their homelessness.”[18] This creates a vicious cycle and directly ties criminalization and homelessness in an inequitable relationship.
While there is a long way to go in order for members of Chicago’s homeless population to be treated with the dignity and respect offered to all Americans, law advocacy groups paired with specialized organization groups are making changes in the courts towards a more inclusive city. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed hardships and infrastructural issues within housing and in Chicago’s methods of dealing with those affected by homelessness. The hope is that these cracks in the system and the current techniques of moving the homeless population will be remedied and addressed.
Notes:
Samuel Carlson, David Mendieta, Julie Dworkin, Estimate of Homeless People in Chicago. (Chicago Homeless.org, 2021)
Esa Olumhense, ACLU, Homelessness Advocates Call on Illinois Cities to Repeal Laws Prohibiting Panhandling, Citing First Amendment (Chicago Tribune, 2019)
Federal Court Finds Illinois Anti-Panhandling Law Unconstitutional (ACLU of Illinois, 2021)
Federal Court Finds Illinois Anti-Panhandling Law Unconstitutional
Reed et al. v. Town of Gilbert, Arizona, et al. (Supreme Court, 2015).
Panhandling Regulation after Reed v. Town of Gilbert, (Columbia Law Review, 2016)
Diane O’Connell, Street Sweeps (ACLU. Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, 2020)
O’Connell, Street Sweeps
Maya Dukmasova, Fight for Right to Camp on City Streets Will Continue Despite Legal Setback, Homeless Advocates Say (Chicago Reader, 2021)
Dukmasova, Fight for Right to Camp on City Streets Will Continue Despite Legal Setback, Homeless Advocates Say
Know Your Rights: Covid 19 Eviction Protection Ordinance (City of Chicago :: Know Your Rights: COVID 19 Eviction Protection Ordinance, 2021)
Alabama Association of Realtors v. Department of Health and Human Services (Supreme Court August 26, 2021)
Illinois Eviction Moratorium Extends through October 2021 for Renters (Domu, 2021)
Lisa Parker and Tom Jones, With Eviction Ban Ending Soon, Illinoisans Rely on Rental Assistance to Fend off Homelessness (NBC Chicago, 2021)
Mola, Landlord Faces Homelessness as Tenants Fall behind on Rent during Eviction Ban (CBS News, 2021)
Spencer Maki, TV6 Investigates: Thousands Could Face Eviction as Illinois Moratorium Ends (kwqc.com, 2021)
John Bae and Margaret diZerega, Illinois Bill Makes History, Highlights... (Vera Institute of Justice, 2017)
Criminalization Perpetuates the Cycle of Homelessness (The Night Ministry, 2019)
Bibliography:
Alabama Association of Realtors v. Department of Health and Human Services (Supreme Court August 26, 2021)
Bae, John, and Margaret diZerega. “Illinois Bill Makes History, Highlights...” Vera Institute of Justice, September 29, 2017.
Carlson, S., Mendieta, D. and Dworkin, J., 2021. Estimate of Homeless People in Chicago. [online] Chicago Homeless.org. [Accessed 12 December 2021].
Columbia Law Review. “Panhandling Regulation after Reed v. Town of Gilbert.” Columbia Law Review, August 24, 2016.
“Criminalization Perpetuates the Cycle of Homelessness.” The Night Ministry, September 20, 2019.
Dukmasova, Maya. “Fight for Right to Camp on City Streets Will Continue Despite Legal Setback, Homeless Advocates Say.” Chicago Reader, August 18, 2021.
“Federal Court Finds Illinois Anti-Panhandling Law Unconstitutional.” ACLU of Illinois, January 19, 2021.
“Know Your Rights: Covid 19 Eviction Protection Ordinance.” City of Chicago :: Know Your Rights: COVID 19 Eviction Protection Ordinance, September 14, 2021.
“Illinois Eviction Moratorium Extends through October 2021 for Renters.” Domu, September 21, 2021.
O’Connell, Diane. “Street Sweeps.” ACLU. Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, April 3, 2020.
Reed et al. v. Town of Gilbert, Arizona, et al. (Supreme Court June 18, 2015).
Lisa Parker, Tom Jones. “With Eviction Ban Ending Soon, Illinoisans Rely on Rental Assistance to Fend off Homelessness.” NBC Chicago. NBC Chicago, September 14, 2021.
Mola, Mola. “Landlord Faces Homelessness as Tenants Fall behind on Rent during Eviction Ban.” CBS News. CBS Interactive, September 9, 2021.
Maki, Spencer. “TV6 Investigates: Thousands Could Face Eviction as Illinois Moratorium Ends.” https://www.kwqc.com, October 4, 2021.
Olumhense, Ese. “ACLU, Homelessness Advocates Call on Illinois Cities to Repeal Laws Prohibiting Panhandling, Citing First Amendment.” chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune, May 31, 2019.
