Arlington Heights board divided on public sleeping ban
Arlington Heights village board members disagree about potential rules that could restrict sleeping or camping on public property for an extended period of time.
At the heart of the debate are complaints from downtown condominium owners about a group of people loitering in front of their building. Those clash with concerns from advocacy groups that any local ordinance would be a step toward criminalizing homelessness.
While nothing is set in stone, the mayor and trustees debated potential restrictions that would prohibit anyone from staying on public property — such as park benches — during the overnight hours and for consecutive nights.
The board’s committee-of-the-whole discussion Monday was prompted by complaints from those who live in the high-rise building at Northwest Highway and Vail Avenue, where a sidewalk bench and the vicinity has become a popular gathering spot for a group of about five people in recent months.
Village Manager Randy Recklaus said police have issued some citations for public consumption of alcohol, but have not yet issued tickets for violations of a local noise ordinance. Only some of the individuals who have been congregating in the area are unhoused, he added.
“These are not easy issues to regulate,” he said. “They can be at times challenging to enforce.”
Trustees including Carina Santa Maria pressed Police Chief Nick Pecora on what enforcement of a public sleeping ban would look like.
“Let’s say someone’s sitting on a bench,” she said. “Would someone put a little chalk mark there to say it’s one day, and then another one, second day?”
Pecora said an officer would have to observe the person over consecutive days and memorialize it through a police report, then would issue a local ordinance citation. But anyone cited wouldn’t be brought to jail, he said.
“It’s not like we’re going to call a tow truck and get them out of there,” he said. “We’re not going to pick them by the scruff of their neck and move them.”
Santa Maria said such an ordinance would be in disagreement with one of the board’s strategic priorities — for more attainable and affordable housing in town — that was established during the board’s goal setting session only a week ago.
“I would challenge this board that we could utilize our time to think about what an opportunity for better would be, versus thinking about how to — for lack of better words — criminalize a group of people who are already hurt by many systemic oppressions and racism and all the other isms that are embedded in a system that isn’t made for them,” she said.
By not addressing the issue, Trustee Scott Shirley said the board would be “letting down” residents who are concerned about safety and the image of their property. He said an ordinance would be a tool for law enforcement.
“Nobody wants to cause these people harm or inconvenience,” Shirley said. “But they might actually end up being motivated to get the help they need based on the fact they can’t live on a park bench in Arlington Heights.”
Though no official votes were taken Monday night — besides a vote to table the discussion until Aug. 11 — Shirley along with Mayor Jim Tinaglia and Trustees Jim Bertucci and Tom Schwingbeck expressed support for crafting some type of ordinance. Other trustees had more questions or, like Santa Maria and Wendy Dunnington, were outright opposed.