City of Chicago evicts homeless from downtown camp

CHICAGO (AP) - Dozens of Chicago's homeless have been forced to pack up their belongings and leave an area along the Chicago River they have long called their own.

By Monday afternoon, crates, blankets, a few bicycles and trash were strewn across the damp ground along Lower Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago.

Chicago Coalition for the Homeless staff stood nearby as city workers drilled holes to erect tall poles that would fence off the encampment known as the "Triangle."

Fifty-year-old Chris Carter has been homeless for four years. He says the people who lived in the "Triangle" have few places to go. He says many of city's neighborhoods are dangerous.

Alisa Rodriguez of the Department of Family and Support Services says the city plans to offer "Triangle" residents services, but not permanent housing.