City clears out yurts due to fire hazards at controversial ‘tent city’ at Gompers Park

by BRIAN NADIG and CYRYL JAKUBOWSKI

City workers hauled away recently installed yurts where people lived on Feb. 21 at Gompers Park, 4222 W. Foster Ave., after clearing three reportedly abandoned tents and heating equipment earlier in the week as part of a scheduled cleanup of the controversial Northwest Side homeless encampment.

The “tent city” has divided the community after several reported fires, drug use and dog attacks. Concerns over safety have been brewing since last year when officials asked the city for an “accelerated moving event.” The AME has been re-scheduled to March 5 from Feb. 28. Encampment residents will be able to choose furniture for the housing options they are offered. Support services were reportedly being provided to those who had been living in the yurts.

Tensions between supporters and opposition to the homeless encampment have been increasing since then. Following the removal of the yurts, about a dozen regular occupied tents remain.

Witnesses on the scene said some spectators were pleased about the cleanup while others voiced loud opposition to the action. Some reported a strong, smoky smell in the park as the yurts were demolished. There were reports of supporters clashing with police officers and videos have been posted on social media. Temperatures were in single digits earlier this week.

Several signs demanding housing for all have been posted at the park. Housing advocates have called for the opening of homeless shelters on the Northwest Side and the construction of more affordable housing.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office and the city’s chief homelessness officer have indicated that the yurts pose more of a fire hazard and risk than regular tents, a spokesperson for 39^th Ward Alderman Samantha Nugent’s office said. Last week an organization from Minnesota came to Gompers and installed about five yurts, which were equipped with makeshift wood-burning stoves, the spokesperson said.

One witness said that the five yurts were demolished and loaded into the waste hauling truck. The man said that he saw six or seven tents still in that southeast corner of “Little Gompers,” adjacent to a bird sanctuary. Several tents were still along the fence on Foster Avenue, the man said.

The Chicago Park District conducts monthly cleaning of the park. Tents considered abandoned are tagged with a 7-day notice before they are removed. This practice has been ongoing at Gompers for more than a year as part of regular maintenance, city officials said. Many empty tents have been removed before by the park district.

Alderman Samantha Nugent (39th) issued the following statement earlier in the week:

“The off-street cleaning that took place today was part of the scheduled monthly cleanings at Gompers Park. The cleanings remove garbage and items not in use by encampment residents. Occupied tents or items being used are not removed.

“Off-street cleanings, like the one that happened this morning, have been happening at Gompers Park for over a year. Signs are posted at least 7 days in advance of each cleaning.

“Since September 2024, Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement and opioid response teams have been visiting Gompers Park, including on cleaning dates. These teams include EMTs, social workers and recovery coaches. Department of Family and Support Services Homeless Outreach and Prevention teams have been helping people living at Gompers find housing,” Nugent said.

Three recent tent fires along with several reported attacks by pit bulls on other dogs being walked in the area has led to renewed efforts to have the city find housing for those living at the park and to start enforcing the park’s 11 p.m. curfew. The Gompers Park Athletic Association announced that it will relocate its games and practices that are scheduled for the renovated field at Little Gompers due to safety concerns.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office has said that the AME should not be viewed as a closure of the encampment, as those remaining would not be forced to leave. However, the city has shut down encampments at other parks following a series of AMEs.

At the City Council’s Feb. 19 meeting, representatives of the Restore Gompers Park Coalition and the athletic association called for increased efforts to find housing for those at the park and to increase safety there.

At the council meeting, coalition member Lisa Stringer read a statement from a resident who said that her family was victim of a violent dog attack at the park.

“Almost two weeks ago on Sunday, February 9, I was on a walk in Gompers Park with my spouse, a friend, senior dog Nala, and 3-week-old baby when we were attacked by an off-leash dog. I had read about this dog on neighborhood community forums as early as Dec. 20, when David Bentley posted the video of his similar attack on Pulaski (Road). And just the night before, I had seen a community member warn that this same dog had attacked at least three other dogs/humans, all of whom filed police reports to no avail.

 “So, when I saw a dog matching the description near the encampment, I tensed up. Seconds later, the dog was sprinting towards us from about 100 feet away. My friend just had enough time to put herself between the dog and our infant, but I couldn’t pick up my dog Nala in time to keep the off-leash dog from latching onto her backside. It took my spouse plus three men from the encampment several minutes to pry the attacking dog off Nala. The whole time, I held Nala’s face and tried to keep her calm as she yelped in pain.

 “When the four men eventually managed to restrain the attacking dog, I rushed Nala to the emergency vet where she received extensive treatment for her wounds. Her overnight stay and follow-up visits cost $4,469 so far—though, bottom line, we are thankful she is still with us.”

Also at the meeting, a coalition member said that ball players last year were subject to heckling from some of those at the encampment and that there was “nudity and erotic behavior” on display.

The video of the attack from Bentley can be found here.  The white pit bull runs across Pulaski Road at Bentley and his dog and he falls to the ground and tries to contain the pit bull from harming his dog. Eventually people from the park come to get the dog.

“I was the victim in November. CPD will do nothing. Animal control will do nothing. The alderman’s office will do nothing,” Bentley posted on the Gompers Park Advisory Council’s Facebook page earlier this month.

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