PEORIA, Ill. – Camping on public property is now banned in the city of Peoria, with penalties that include fines and possible jail time.
At Tuesday night’s special meeting, council approved the ban in an ordinance by a 6-5 vote. Similar bans have been passed in East Peoria, Morton, and Pekin.
The issue was first brought up at the August 13th meeting, with modifications made to the original ordinance. The changes include the prohibiting of storing personal property on public land, as well as an abatement process run by Community Development.
For implementation, Community Development Director Joe Dulin says his department will be the first ones to contact a person in violation of the ban. He says police would contact someone after hours and take their information, but also provide information on where the violator can find shelter.
Dulin says staff would check back 48 hours after the initial contact to see if they are in compliance, and follow up every 24 hours if they are not. He says on the 5th day, fines would be issued, and the property cleared of personal belongings. Dulin says those belongings would be stored for up to 30 days.
The fines would be $50-100 on the first offense, $100-250 for the second offense, and $250-750 for the third. A 3rd violation within 180 days could carry a maximum prison sentence of up to six months pursuant to the Illinois Municipal Code, and up to a year in prison on the provisions of the Illinois Criminal Code.
Before the vote, At-Large Councilman Zach Oyler read more than 70 service calls to the encampments, for reasons ranging from fires, to overdoses, to a gunshot victim.
“These encampments are incredibly unsafe places to be, both in terms of the altercations that happen between the folks that live there, and their physical and mental health, so something has to be done to address them,” Oyler said.
Council also heard from business owners in the area, who told stories about how the encampments have affected their operations. Jack Berres, owner of Jack’s on Adams, testified that safety was his biggest concern. He says he picked up needles and human waste each day around his business, and has had an employee quit because of downtown safety concerns.
At-Large Councilman Mike Vespa was one of the ‘no’ votes on the ordinance, asking during the meeting if jailing homeless people would be effective.
“It’s going to cost the taxpayers a lot of money, and especially in the winter, it’s an upgrade in some respects,” Vespa said.
Vespa, along with At-Large Councilwoman Bernice Gordon-Young, questioned if fines for homeless people would be effective. Gordon-Young also wondered how feasible it would be to send notices to people in violation of the ban.
Others who voted against the ordinance wanted to see more humanitarian ways to treat the problem.
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