News

By Lizzie Kane, August 24, 2023

The number of people experiencing homelessness in Chicago increased between 2020 and 2021, according to a new estimate from Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

The group finds that 68,440 people experienced homelessness in 2021, a 2,829 increase from the previous year, according to the coalition’s report published Thursday. The research shows shifts in the way people experienced homelessness, citing that 7,985 more people were staying on the street or in shelters as opposed to those temporarily staying with others compared with 2020 data.

Continue reading Chicago Tribune – An estimated 68,440 Chicagoans experienced homelessness in 2021, new report says

By Tessa Weinberg, August 24, 2023

An estimated 68,440 people were unhoused in Chicago in 2021 with a sharp jump in the number of people staying on the street or in shelters, according to a new report released Thursday by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

The coalition’s analysis included data both of people on the street or in shelters and the number of people who are “doubled up” or temporarily staying with others.

Continue reading WBEZ – Chicago’s homeless living on streets and in shelters sharply increased in 2021

By Alex Nitkin, August 23, 2023

If approved, Chicago would join cities like New York, Los Angeles and Evanston who’ve turned to the tax in recent years to pad their budgets — all to different effects.

Currently, all property buyers pay a flat 0.75% rate, regardless of the sale price. The Bring Chicago Home proposal, first pitched by housing advocates in 2018, would more than triple that one-time tax for properties over $1 million, including commercial properties. Proponents predict the tax could generate more than $160 million in annual revenue for the city to spend on homelessness and rehousing efforts.

Illinois law only allows municipalities to restructure their real estate transfer taxes if voters approve it in a binding referendum. The Chicago City Council still must approve the ballot measure before it reaches voters, and the language and specific tax rates they propose may change. But as currently written, Bring Chicago Home would charge a 2.65% tax on all property sales of more than $1 million.

Continue reading Next City – As Chicago Considers A ‘Mansion Tax,’ Evanston And LA Show Potential Paths Forward

By Fran Spielman, August 23, 2023

If Chicago voters and the City Council approve Mayor Brandon Johnson’s tiered plan to raise the real estate transfer tax on high-end home sales, the city will have $100 million in new money to combat homelessness every year.

Against that backdrop, a new report indicates at least one of the programs the Department of Family and Support Services already operates is spending city dollars wisely and with sensitivity.

In an audit released Wednesday, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg examined “Accelerated Moving Events,” which is when residents of homeless encampments “complete all the steps required” to secure housing and support services in one day.

Continue reading Chicago Sun Times-New audit by inspector general lauds city outreach to homeless encampments

By Laura Rodríguez Presa, August 22, 2023

Nearly 100 asylum-seekers who made a home at a community-run shelter in Pilsen must leave the building by Sept. 3 due to a confluence of bad luck that includes a lack of funding and volunteers.

Officials learned last week of the fate of the building said Lucia Moya, chief of staff of Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, whose office initially helped to gather volunteers and stakeholders in the community to open the space as a shelter in May to relieve crowding at the 12th District police station on the Near West Side.

Continue reading Chicago Tribune – Pilsen shelter set to close first week of September, forcing nearly 100 asylum-seekers back to police stations

By Rachel Hinton, Illinois Answers Project and Manny Ramos, Illinois Answers Project August 11, 2023

Some organizations say the city’s approach to counting people experiencing homelessness, which involves going out on one of the coldest nights of the year to count people, underestimates the size of the problem. The city doesn’t take into account people who live “doubled up,” which could include couch surfing with friends or family or other situations.

By any measure, the problem is only growing worse. The city has seen its homeless population nearly double between its 2022 “Point-in-Time” count and its 2023 snapshot of residents experiencing homelessness on a single night, jumping from 3,875 to 6,139. 

That’s the highest number of unhoused people logged in a city survey since 2015.  

Continue reading Block City Chicago – City Has Spent Only 15% Of $52 Million In Federal Money Dedicated For Homeless Programs

By Sarah Schulte, August 10, 2023

In a written statement, the corporation said that for more than a year it has implemented a loop of classical music at certain locations nationwide, including Chicago.

They’re not the only company to do so. Opera is the genre of choice for 7-11 stores. A few in Chicago also play music to deter loitering.

The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless blasts the tactic.

“It is essentially treating them as less than human and treating them as a nuisance, whereas there are folks that are in need of housing and supports,” said Doug Schenkelberg, executive director.

Continue reading ABC 7-Walgreens is latest chain to blast classical music to deter loiterers

By Acacia Hernandez, August 5, 2023

“We wanted them to feel humanized and dignified and that there wasn’t one broad stroke of stereotypes that were tagged to them, but rather I was there to affirm their lived experiences,” Fuentes said. “Their needs are diverse. We have individuals in that encampment who are veterans who have served this country who cannot afford to live in the city of Chicago. We have individuals who were evicted promptly after COVID.”                 

It’s not an issue isolated to Humboldt Park. According to the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, more than 65,000 Chicagoans are currently unhoused.

Bruce Parry with the Illinois Union of the Homeless said it has been a growing issue ever since the pandemic hit.

Continue reading wttw-Local Officials, Organizers Working to Address Humboldt Park’s Growing Homeless Encampment

By Sandra Torres, August 2, 2023

“Homeless Youth: An Invisible Crisis” features several eye-opening stories by NBC 5/Telemundo Chicago reporter Sandra Torres, who reveals many of today’s homeless youth are not necessarily living on the streets of Chicago or in shelters.

Continue reading NBC Chicago-Homeless youth: an invisible crisis