Johnson hides 8 Chicago homeless camps from Democratic delegates
While Mayor Brandon Johnson has denied clearing Chicago’s homeless encampments had anything to do with the Democratic National Convention, his administration has said otherwise. Even his allies suspect a double standard.
With Chicago in the national spotlight for the 2024 Democratic National Convention, Mayor Brandon Johnson has been working to tidy things up and hide the city’s homeless.
Johnson ordered eight Chicago homeless encampments closed ahead of the convention, including one of the city’s largest along the main thoroughfare Democratic delegates would travel between McCormick Place Convention Center and the United Center.
City leaders have denied claims the encampment closures were to hide the homeless from delegates.
Moving one of the city’s largest homeless encampments July 17 near the Dan Ryan Expressway was to avoid potential safety concerns for delegates, Maura McCauley, managing deputy commissioner of the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services told the Chicago Tribune.
“She said there were worries that security officials with the convention could suddenly ask that the tent city be evacuated,” the Tribune reported.
Johnson later denied McCauley’s claim his administration was clearing the homeless camps for the convention. Another spokesperson asserting the closures were unrelated.
Most of the inhabitants agreed to move into temporary city-operated shelters, leading to other homeless occupants allegedly being forced out to make room. The city told the Sun-Times those shelters would remain open until Aug. 31.
Johnson’s action to clear Chicago’s homeless camps has led some to accuse the mayor of holding a double standard, including one of his closest progressive allies.
Ald. Andre Vasquez, Johnson’s appointed chair of the City Council Committee, blasted Johnson for suddenly finding housing when the city needs to hide people, but not helping the tens of thousands who have been in need all along.
“I didn’t think we would go from ‘Bring Chicago Home’ to ‘Hide Chicago’s Homeless,’ but here we are,” Vasquez wrote on X. “Yall know if this happened under Lightfoot, movement would be moving.”
The Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness estimates there were 68,440 people experiencing homelessness citywide in 2021. This was before 46,787 new migrants were sent to the city from Texas, further straining resources and filling shelters to capacity.
Research shows housing affordability in Chicago was already among the lowest in the Midwest, with nearly 43% of households spending over 30% of their income for rent or the mortgage. Another 22.6% of Chicagoans spend more than half of their annual income on housing – the second-highest rate among large Midwestern cities, just behind Detroit.
A recent report by the Illinois Policy Institute outlined steps Illinois communities can take to make housing more affordable. Top recommendations include permitting a wider variety of housing, lowering land use restrictions to allow for more alternative dwelling units on single-family lots, duplexes, triplexes, etc., lowering minimum parking requirements and streamlining environmental review processes.
Instead of spending taxpayer dollars to conceal Chicago’s homeless encampments during the convention, Johnson should be working on the policies he outlined in his recent “Cut the Tape” report. Creating affordable housing by curtailing government interference is a fast, efficient way to reduce homelessness.