Naperville removes belongings of longtime 'protester'

Naperville police removed Scott Huber's belongings from a downtown parking garage Thursday night.

On Friday morning, Huber was at the police station to retrieve them, still vowing to fight a new city ordinance designed, at least in part, to keep him from living on the streets.

Huber has been residing in a makeshift shelter near the Chicago Avenue parking deck in downtown Naperville for more than eight years. He insists he is not homeless but rather is protesting his wrongful treatment by the government.

In October, Naperville passed a ban on sleeping and storing personal property downtown on the public way.

Huber was notified last week that he was in violation of the ordinance and received a citation the following day.

The new rules give the city the right to remove his property if it is still on the public way seven days after notification. Police did so at 6:20 p.m. Thursday. Huber said he was at a nearby Burger King at the time.

He said his property was not on the sidewalk but was locked up near the bike rack in the parking garage on Chicago Avenue. In addition, it was kept in a cart with wheels, which he says makes it a man-powered vehicle.

"It's not stored, it's parked," he said. "It's transient."

He said the property is part of his protest site and by removing it police are "undermining the stability and durability" of the site.

But Sgt. Gregg Bell said police consider Huber to be storing his property in violation of the law, which prohibits it on both the sidewalk and in the parking garage.

"Either of those are public ways and he can't just store his property there," Bell said.

Police plan to continue to take action if Huber does not comply with the ordinance.

Huber rode a bus to the police station Friday morning and signed for his belongings that were contained in five garbage bags, a suitcase, briefcase and a cart on wheels with an umbrella attached.

"Basically what they're trying to do is wear me out," he said. "They want me to haul this stuff all around town."

The ordinance allows the city to collect money from violators for the removal and storage of property, but Huber was not charged a fee Friday.

When Huber and several of his supporters complained to the city council about the ordinance Tuesday, Councilman Judy Brodhead defended the city saying Huber's setup on the sidewalk is not a safe way to live and that he repeatedly has been offered help but has refused.

"I think all of us up here are tired of being accused of being cruel to Mr. Huber," she said. "We have said many times that we are sympathetic to him, we would like him to find alternative housing, he has been offered opportunities for alternative housing as far as I understand and I don't think anything is preventing any of that from going forward."

Huber has not been cited for violating the sleeping prohibitions in the ordinance. He would not say where he now spends his nights because he said people have attempted to rob him.

Huber is due in court Dec. 17 for the citation he received last week.