CHICAGO (CBS) — On Monday night next week, President Joe Biden will host the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
A week earlier, construction workers had begun building the security perimeters around the stadium. The inside of the stadium is only accessible to people with the correct identification.
Meanwhile, some neighbors in the area have noticed changes in other streets nearby, where homeless camps have been set up.
There are signs all over the city letting people know that DNC is coming up from August 19 to 22. Yet signs are also popping up that read, “No tenting, we’re calling the police” — and there’s no sign of the several homeless camps that have been there for months, and in some cases years.
“If they’re just displacing people, then we really have a problem,” said Doug Schenkelberg, executive director of the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness.
The coalition works 24/7 to address homelessness in Chicago. He also knows that the city has recently relocated tents and groups of homeless people, such as from a location along Desplaines Street near Roosevelt Road and the Dan Ryan Expressway.
“What we’re concerned about, particularly with that location, is closing that space permanently — putting up fencing to say people can’t come back,” Schenkelberg said. “If we don’t have permanent housing for everyone who is experiencing homelessness, we can’t start closing public spaces.”
The coalition wants to ensure that the people being moved are for long-term housing, and not just for the DNC’s show.
“Are we worried about them the next day?” Schenkelberg said. “You know, and the city has told us, and we have reason to believe, that they’re working on long-term solutions.”
Julie Darling, president of the West Loop Community Organization, said control of large homeless encampments is necessary.
“I truly believe the system in Chicago is broken,” she said. “This is nothing new.”
For more than a year, Darling’s group fought to have an encampment at Lake and Clinton Streets removed. Today, those people are gone—and there are “no tents” signs hanging.
“I think the biggest concern for citizens across the city — whether it’s the West Loop, the South Side or the West Side — is when the encampments pop up and they get out of control,” Darling said. “That’s when the bad stuff happens — that’s when safety is an issue.”
Darling praises the city’s efforts, even if only during the DNC, because there are fewer people on the streets. But the question remains where the money came from to clear the camps.
“It is often the case that money is found at such times,” said Schenkelberg.
CBS News Chicago reached out to the city of Chicago for an idea of how many homeless people have been relocated, either temporarily or permanently. There was no response as of Monday evening.
Jermont Terry
