Yorkville approves fines and possible jail time for city’s homeless

If someone experiencing homelessness commits a crime, they can be arrested and charged just like any other individual.

Yorkville is going a step further making the very act of being homeless in town, or “public camping” as city officials call it, a crime punishable by fines and possible imprisonment, based by a new city ordinance.

With little advance public notice, with zero public comments and with less than one minute of discussion by the aldermen, the city council approved the ordinance at the Aug. 12 meeting.

Aldermen Arden Joe Plocher, Chris Funkhouser, Matt Merrick, Rusty Hyatt, Ken Koch and Craig Soling voted in favor. Aldermen Rusty Corneils and Dan Transier were absent. Mayor John Purcell did not object the motion.

The ordinance was submitted to the city council by City Administrator Bart Olson after being drafted by the city attorney.

The ordinance enables law enforcement to fine individuals for sleeping in their cars overnight, camping on public property, sleeping on benches, using a blanket or sleeping bag, or constructing any type of living shelter.

Law enforcement will be specifically addressing individuals “public camping” on a public sidewalk, street, alley, lane, any public right-of-way, park, bench, under bridges or viaducts, or any other publicly-owned property.

Individuals’ property will be seized by law enforcement for a minimum of 30 days, with the city maintaining the right to retain any items for evidence.

The ordinance lists public health and safety concerns as well as the protection of property as reasons for the action.

After a 24-hour notice period, fines for a first offense begin at $75, climbing up to $750 for a fifth offense. A sixth offense may result in possible incarceration for up to six months with a misdemeanor charge.

A “separate offense” could be the very next day after the first fine, so repeat offenses could quickly pile up.

“This was brought on because several phone calls and emails were received, one of the individuals had property damaged,” Plocher said during the meeting.

“It is not acceptable for these people to break the law,” Plocher added, while asking other aldermen to support the ordinance.

Not unprecedented

The move comes as the Trump Administration deployed the national guard to Washington D.C. to address what it called a city of ‘bedlam and squalor’ - even though official Department of Justice data on Jan. 3 showed crime there is at a 30-year low.

Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the city’s homeless have the option to be taken to a homeless shelter or receive addiction and mental health services. She said if they refuse, “they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time,” as reported by The Guardian.

When asked how large Yorkville’s homeless population is that would require such a broad ordinance, Olson said public complaints have been received about four homeless individuals, with only three confirmed to still be in the city.

“It is my understanding the Yorkville Police Department has offered social services to all three of them and they’ve declined at this point,” Olson said following the meeting.

The complaints against these individuals ranged from “harassment of people at a business to harassment of people in public. There’s been allegations of people showing photos on phones to people making people uncomfortable,” Olson said. “There’s been comments about threats that have been made. We’ve spent a fair amount of police resources in the past month to respond to these issues to the point where it’s detrimental to people’s use of public property and businesses.”

Olson said in addition to “public camping” those experiencing homelessness have trespassed on dozens of businesses.

The ordinance gives acting discretion to the police department or the Community Development Department, depending on the nature of the offense.

When asked if he thinks the ordinance opens up the city to any future lawsuits, Olson said the city attorney did not discuss that possibility while drafting the ordinance based on the Illinois Municipal League sample ordinance.

At least 25 Illinois communities, many in central Illinois, have passed similar ordinances over the past two years, including Peoria, who passed it with a 6-5 majority over Mayor Rita Ali’s objection.

Activity climbed after the Supreme Court in June, 2024, overturned decades of legal precedent ruling banning people from sleeping or camping in public spaces does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, even if no shelter space is available.

The 6-3 decision in Johnson v. City of Grants Pass, with the six conservative-minded justices in the majority, enables towns to penalize individuals with fines or arrest.

The moves have met resistance, including the proposed Illinois House Bill 1429 that would amend the Bill of Right for the Homeless Act to prevent local governments from creating ordinances or giving fines or criminal penalties to unsheltered homelessness for occupying or engaging in life-sustaining activities on public property.

The proposed bill provides exceptions to maintain access to public property or address public health or safety.

In March, the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness issued a letter to public officials saying they cannot restrict access to public spaces for those experiencing homelessness. The letter cites the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003, and the Bill of Rights for the Homeless Act.

As cited by Yorkville’s ordinance, the Bill of Rights for the Homeless Act, grants homeless people the right to equal treatment by all state and municipal agencies, without discrimination on the basis of housing status, including the right to use and move freely in public spaces in the same manner as any other person and without discrimination on the basis of their housing status, and the right to a reasonable expectation of privacy in their personal property.