Yorkville city officials previously said they would only amend their recently passed ordinance to fine and possibly imprison the homeless if something better was laid on the table.

After nearly an hour-and-a-half of public comment at the Aug. 26 city council meeting during which residents spoke against the “cruel” ordinance, the community made it clear better options are out there.

But while the city is looking for revisions to the current ordinance, the overwhelming sentiment of the public is to repeal it all together.

Speakers ranged from local social service providers, community members with lived experiences with homelessness, and advocates from the community who have been frustrated with how difficult it is to actually acquire help for the area’s homeless.

Mayor John Purcell said the city will be having future discussions with a formed “community group” to discuss better providing access to social services and possibly amending the ordinance.

While the Yorkville Police Department confirmed the ordinance is yet to be enforced, the city joins at least 25 other Illinois towns criminalizing homelessness, mirroring the actions of the Trump administration arresting the homeless in Washington D.C.

It was not discussed during the meeting if keeping the ordinance on the books makes Yorkville better suited for receiving federal funds from the administration or if it protects it from litigation from businesses who experience property damage.

Next steps

“There were some great comments tonight, some of the services I don’t think we were even aware of,” Purcell said during the meeting. “We are listening to some of the comments and we will bring some of those back at a future meeting for discussion and a possible vote. I like the idea of having a community group discuss this somewhat on a regular basis. There’s many of you that have more expertise than any of us do.”

Purcell said he shoulders the criticism for the ordinance passing so quickly. The aldermen passed the ordinance unanimously with less than a minute of discussion, with very little public notice, and zero community input.

Resident John Joyce said under the letter of the ordinance his mother and him could have been fined or imprisoned after living through eviction several years ago.

“For a few months, there was nowhere we could be housed together before I went to college. Under the letter of the law you passed I would have gone to jail,” Joyce said. “If someone is breaking the law, then follow through with the letter of that law, but don’t create a new law to selectively punish people.”

Joyce said he was upset the ordinance was passed without “an honest” discussion with the community.

“Diving into the letter of the law reveals a disturbingly vague law with nothing but cruel intentions,” Joyce said.

Ann Englehardt, former executive director of Kendall County PADS that closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, said she doubted the ordinance used any evidence-based data to justify its solutions. Especially, she said, considering people experiencing homelessness often endure mental illness, brain injuries, trauma, PTSD, substance abuse and social disorders.

“My biggest fear if this law is used is it will become a means of profiling,” Englehardt said. “Does this ordinance address unlawful offenses or does it target a specific group of people?”

Englehardt said because people experiencing homelessness often have little or no family support, making social services accessible and easy to understand is crucial.

She said the Kendall County Health Department has a well-developed homeless response system including prevention and interventions. She also said kendallcounty211.org serves as a 24/7 information line to help streamline information for services.

Several speakers said while it’s great the police have crisis intervention training guiding officers to offer services to homeless individuals, they said people with experience in social work are better equipped to handle the situation. They said individuals often deny social assistance when they feel threatened, scared or confused.

The police partner with the Kendall County Health Department, Kendall County Senior Services, Mutual Ground of Aurora, Daybreak Center by the Catholic Diocese of Joliet and the multi-county Continuum of Care community action program. Several speakers questioned if these groups were consulted before the ordinance was adopted.

Alyssa Marreo, director of AID’s 24-hour mobile crisis response team, said their social workers are trained to intervene and connect individuals with help ranging from helping arrange shelter to behavioral health services.

“It takes more than just getting into a shelter to get back on your feet, it takes intensive, long-term support and the community and agencies like us bringing these people back up,” Marreo said.

She said anyone seeking help should call (630) 966-4357 for immediate services. She said (9-8-8) is also a great national service connecting people with help no matter their location.

Marreo said after a business in Yorkville contacted AID worried about a homeless individual’s mental state that had been frequenting their business they were able to intervene including arranging shelter for them at Hessed House.

“This individual had been homeless in Yorkville for over a year,” Marreo said. “They were not aggressive. They were receptive to the support and assistance we were providing. But they were confused. They were scared. These folks are not dangerous.”

More community comments

Allison Metz, resident – “The city council fell prey to the current movement in both Illinois and across the country to criminalize the status of homelessness. The passing of this ordinance is particularly grievous because of the current undermining of our social support network by federal funding cuts to programs such as Medicaid, substance abuse, mental health services, employment supports for disabled workers and permanent supportive and rapid rehousing. All of which impact our most vulnerable residents.”

Jennifer King, resident - “Yorkville’s growth is undeniable. The question is whether we’re building a city for families or a city of contradictions, luxury homes next to struggling schools, sprawling developments without public transportation and criminal records for systemic failures of vulnerable people. Please repeal this ordinance. Plan for transit, schools and affordable housing and build a Yorkville where families thrive and no one is left behind. The community showed up (tonight.) You’ve had a lot of time to hear from the community. So can we put you on notice and ask are you willing to repeal this? I didn’t see anybody here in support.”

Caroline McCree, resident – “I’ve been trying to help one of our homeless residents for almost two years now. Recently, I found out there is a program at the health department to help connect the homeless with resources. I was never once told about it. If I had been told it was available, he could have gotten help long ago. If you’re going to have this ordinance in place and say there’s available resources, you need to start a campaign of having people meet them in their own environments. How do you expect them to seek help on their own? I had enough trouble navigating the system and I work in healthcare.”

Brad Chamberlain, resident – “Major policy changes deserve ample notice and open discussion. This ordinance should have been tabled to allow for that. People sometimes decline assistance because they don’t feel safe in a shelter, because of past trauma, or because of restrictive rules that don’t fit their situation, or simply because services being offered don’t meet their actual needs. I urge you to continue this process with full transparency, real community input and a focus on long-term solutions.”

Alicia Castillo, resident - “You could repeal it as easily as you passed it. We are consistently approving high income or high cost housing developments, while Kendall County has the highest eviction rate in the state. We have a low poverty rate, that means as rich people move in, poor people are forced to leave the city. I don’t want to move somewhere cheaper, I want to live in the city that raised me. It’s not just about providing resources to help people we see on the streets, it’s about people living on couches, people doubling up, and people trying to figure out how on earth they’re going to pay rent in Yorkville for another month.”