City will not force homeless from Gompers Park, while ‘accelerated’ moving event ruled out for 2024

by BRIAN NADIG

The 11 p.m. closing time at Gompers Park, 4222 W. Foster Ave., will not be enforced against the homeless there, and an “accelerated moving event” to help get housing for the those living in the park’s encampment cannot happen until 2025, according to city officials at a Sept. 30 community meeting.

“The city will not criminalize people who are unhoused,” said Sendy Soto, the city’s chief homelessness officer.

It also was discussed at the meeting that evicting the homeless from the park could mean a loss of vital health services for those living here. City CARE teams are making regular visits to the park.

Alderman Samantha Nugent (39th) said that her office gets calls from residents asking why park rules, including restrictions on alcohol use, are not being enforced.

Chicago Park District regional manager Mike Torres said that park district security lacks enforcement powers to arrest or issue citations to those breaking rules and that police have the responsibility to do so.

Torres said that those living in a tent may be asked to move to a different area of the park if they are interfering with a park activity.

However, according to Soto, the tents cannot be restricted to one area of the park, as suggested by a resident in a question. “This is not something we do,” Soto said. “This is a public park.”

17th (Albany Park) Police District commander Jesse Alvarez said that calls for service around the park are up this year by about 20 percent compared to last year, mostly due to calls for medical attention. However, he said, there have been an increase in arrests and citations in the area.

Tactical teams have been running “quality of life” missions in the park, Alvarez said.

In August, a woman reported being robbed at gunpoint in the park, and the Restore Gompers Park Coalition reports the finding of knives and used drug needles in the park and that the lagoon being used as a bathroom.

The coalition and Nugent have been calling for an accelerated moving event to help find housing for the homeless living at the park, especially with winter approaching.

Officials said that accelerated events occur over a couple days, with individuals choosing housing and a furniture package. The cost is about $30,000 for two year’s rent for one household along with any needed services.

The city’s accelerated event scheduled is filled for the remainder of 2024, and 2025 is the next opening, Soto said.

According to city and social agency officials at the meeting, those living at the park will continue to be offered a variety of mental health and addiction services and that efforts are being made to identify public assistance benefits for them. They added that shelter space also is offered but there are no shelters on the Northwest Side, and that the unhoused usually want to remain in the community where they are from and their friends are. They also said that the rules, such as curfews, at shelters can be too restrictive for some.

In terms of more permanent housing, options in Chicago are becoming increasingly scarce, as housing prices keep going up in the city, officials said.

Several hundred people attended the meeting, which was held at the Salvation Army Mayfair Community Church, 5020 N. Pulaski Road.

Some said that the homeless at the park face the highest crime  risk, not those living in the community. One attendee said that a unhoused woman at the park was assaulted.

Coalition member Nicole Foster said that the current situation at the park is “unsafe” for children and that the best solution is to find through an “accelerated” event housing with wraparound services for those living at the park.

About 27 tents reportedly have been set up at the park.

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