By Kayla Johnson
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (25 News) – Illinois lawmakers are advancing a bill that would limit when local governments can clear homeless encampments from parks and other public property.
House Bill 1429 would restrict local laws that fine or criminally penalize people experiencing homelessness while they are on public property doing basic survival activities with nowhere else to go.
The measure would also require local governments to give three days’ notice before removing people from public spaces, except in certain circumstances.
Supporters said the goal is to set clear limits and push communities toward outreach and services instead of punishment.
“Our people by and large don’t sleep in camps because, much like we don’t want to be bothered while we’re sleeping, while we want some sort of modicum of privacy, so do our people that are forced to sleep outside, and if they are utilizing a park, it’s simply because there’s literally nowhere else for them to go,” Kshe Bernard, co-founder of LULA, tells 25 News.
According to the bill, individual complaints or public pressure cannot be the only factor in clearing encampments.
The Illinois Municipal League opposed the bill, saying it shifts the balance away from local control and makes it harder for cities to manage parks, sidewalks and public spaces.
IML leaders said local governments must keep parks, sidewalks and rights-of-way safe, accessible and usable for everyone, and that they oppose the bill unless it is amended to preserve local control.
Peoria City Council member Tim Riggenbach said, “I don’t think anybody thinks that having an encampment, having our fellow man sleeping in tents is the solution and the end all to the problem.”
On Wednesday, the Illinois House Housing Committee approved the measure on an 11-to-4 vote, sending it forward for more debate in Springfield.
If it passes through the House and Senate and is signed into law, home-rule authority regarding homeless encampments would be restricted statewide.
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