Elgin sees fewer issues with homeless population, but it's bracing for evictions

The COVID-19 pandemic heightened the pressure on Elgin officials last summer to address the city's homeless population.

The fear of spreading the infection restricted access to public buildings, and social services displaced food pantries, fueling a larger homeless population in the city's downtown for longer durations than seen before the pandemic.

Problems with some homeless people littering, shouting at people, panhandling in parks and defecating in parking structures sparked complaints from the downtown business community and action by the city.

Now, with the weather warming up, pandemic restrictions loosening and a looming end to the moratorium on evictions, local officials are looking at what worked to address the problem and what still needs to be done.

There's a noticeable difference in the downtown these days, said Jennifer Fukala, executive director of the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin. The homeless population is way down and so are complaints from downtown business owners.

That's because the city council enacted new ordinances that gave police tools to address the few homeless individuals who may be problematic. Local social service providers are also working to expand their services, Fukala said.

"Compared to last year, we're just not seeing the volume of issues and concerns that we were seeing from the business community this same time last year," she said.

Her group worked with the city to bring a dedicated officer to the downtown business area as a regular patrol beat. The city council also gave police an expanded nuisance ordinance that restricts use of city-owned parking structures and lots to parking or retrieval of vehicles. Police gained the ability to remove people from garages, or the entire downtown, and impose a temporary ban if they engage in repeated disruptive activity.

In her weekly radio show, Police Chief Ana Lalley said her department's approach to interacting with the local homeless population continues to evolve. She agrees police are not mental health professionals, but said they are almost always the first to be called when people experience problematic behavior in the local homeless community.

"We are not looking at their status and whether or not they are homeless," Lalley said. "We are looking at behaviors. You can sit in (Carleton Rogers Park) every day as long as your behavior is not drawing attention where people are calling us."

The bigger solution, Lalley said, is addressing the underlying causes.

"Having an officer in the downtown, that's the short game," she said. "We have to make sure we have services in place that look toward a long-term solution so our guys are not seeing the same people all the time."

Part of that involves an ongoing effort to put a mental health professional in the police dispatch center. A bigger part involves an expanded Elgin PADS facility.

Sarah Ponitz, executive director of Elgin PADS, has spent the past three years searching for a new, bigger location that would allow for expanded services. The pandemic limited PADS' ability to help the local homeless population. The legal capacity of the current shelter is 96 guests, but health department restrictions with social distancing reduce that to 42.

The good news is the local homeless census, in Elgin and nationally, is way down. That's alleviating some of the service and political pressures for PADS to do more. But a highly competitive real estate market for industrial and warehouse space is stalling PADS' plans.

"Our goal is still to expand our services, but we do not have the space to do that," Ponitz said. "We want to have more guest units in a new location, as well as have services on-site for easier access - legal, mental health and a nurse practitioner one day a week."

Doing that means finding a new building of 20,000 to 60,000 square feet that is ready for PADS to move into or affordable for the not-for-profit agency to renovate.

Last year, there seemed to be momentum toward PADS getting help from the city to move into the former Illinois Department of Human Services facility at 600 S. State St. It proved more costly to renovate than PADS could afford, and city officials may have other plans for the property.

The trouble with finding a suitable new location means any hopes for an expanded and revamped shelter is a least 12 to 18 months away, even if a new building materialized today. That's how long Ponitz believes it could take to raise funds for purchase and renovation. That's a lot longer than the August deadline Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signaled for when he will end the state's eviction moratorium. Pre-moratorium, the most frequent request for help PADS received was for people being evicted who had nowhere to go.

"I've been telling my staff for months to get ready because we are going to be extremely busy again," Ponitz said. "When it gets lifted, the floodgates are just going to open with calls."

City Council member Carol Rauschenberger said residents have pushed the city to address the situation, but officials have, in turn, relied on PADS' expertise and expectations for its new facility. The end of the eviction moratorium means a renewed sense of urgency.

"With the homeless population, we are trying to hit a moving target as far as the current needs," she said. "What the situation is today does not reflect what might happen next week, next month or next year. Whatever the fallout is from potential evictions, we need to be prepared."