For multiple months we have received complaints regarding the homeless takeovers at several Uptown bus stops. The majority of the complaints have focused on the heavily used bus stop and bus shelter across from Aldi and Target, at the corner of Sunnyside and Broadway.
Reader AK sent the following photos to illustrate the situation.
There is a nearly identical takeover at Wilson and Sheridan that has been the subject of other reader complaints.
Rainy days like yesterday, today, and this weekend present a particular problem. People who would otherwise use the shelters for their intended purpose are forced to stand out in the rain, many with purchases from Aldi and Target. Also, people who may need to sit down due to physical limitations can't sit down because the benches are inaccessible.
Readers have written to say they have received no real answer from Alderwoman Clay's office on the issue even though her office is nearly across the street. One reader reported she was told there was "nothing" that could be done, in part due to pushback from local homeless advocates who protested the removal of the bench inside the shelter.
We know DFSS has tried to deal with the situation, but with open drug use and a "party" atmosphere with a rotating cast of characters, the squatting has to come to an end.
If these individuals are resistant to moving, even after good faith outreach, then there need to be consequences for continuing to occupy public spaces in ways that prevent others from using them, starting with removing them.
Like the viaducts, compassion for people experiencing homelessness has to be balanced with the public's right to use public spaces for their intended purpose.
Finally someone is complaining about this issue. There are shelters takeovers at Sheridan and Wilson, Sheridan and Leland (I think it's Leland). Across from the Castleman Senior Building. I've seen a few homeless at the bus shelter at Broadway and Sheridan. Something needs to be done
ReplyDeleteThe city is failing. The lake shore is massive tent city. The bus stops in uptown are now poeple filthy homes, filled with trash and drug abuse. We dont' have to live like this
ReplyDeleteRide a bike south on the lakefront. It's like a different city. It's the northside that refuses to do anything about the tents.
DeleteAll the times some of us need to sit down
ReplyDeleteInstead of sitting down, maybe you should stand up.
DeleteThe bus terminal at Marine Dr and Margate Terrace has been occupied by a woman for YEARS. Im convinced she will never leave. Northside LSD has become a tent city for drug addicts who approach aggressively. Property taxes increasing but we have more BS to deal with. Mayor and Alderman are preoccupied with…..I have no idea what they are doing for us.
ReplyDeleteHaha.. continue to complain for your outside benefits but no talks of homeless American people with no where to go in terrible weather conditions.. Must be the privileged people again... Hope they accommodate you Master.
ReplyDeleteKeep this in mind when its time to vote her OUT in February.
ReplyDeletecan’t wait
DeleteAnd clean up these camps on marine and Wilson
ReplyDeleteThese people should be in proper shelters, not using public spaces for private shelter.
ReplyDeleteThere certainly has to be a balance of compassion for the homeless people who occupy these spaces and respect toward transit users who deserve the dignity of a place to sit, but the current status quo is definitely not that balance. Why can’t we connect these folks to better housing or at least better options in the meantime like non-congregate shelters (which I understand many homeless people don’t like living in the shelters) or at least construct some decent tents for these folks like what the orange tent project does? These are tasks that the alder office could take on to make sure we’re protecting our most vulnerable while also respecting the many transit users who rely on the 36 bus and other bus lines to get around and run errands like grocery shopping.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you want them to go? I’ll stand in the rain for a few minutes and be uncomfortable but I have a home to go dry off and warm up in. It’s an inconvenience at best. These people deserve dignity and humanity. They deserve better than a bus shelter but if it’s their only option, let them have it.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it's just an inconvenience for you, but it's not that easy for everyone. There are people with medical or mobility issues that find it difficult to stand for long periods of time while waiting for a bus on a route that rarely runs on time. There are low income individuals who can't afford to have the food or necessities they just purchased destroyed by bad weather.
DeleteThere's a massive difference between holding compassion for the homeless and not letting them monopolize a public good at the expense of others who need and pay for the access/upkeep of said good.
There's also a bus shelter across from Margate Park
ReplyDeleteThe shelter at Wilson & Sheridan is unusable due to "occupant."
ReplyDeleteUU, thank you, I've noticed this and the lack of the aldercritter doing anything about it. Unfortunately, it's just another example of Stockholm Syndrome Socialism run amuk in the 46th Ward over the last 40 years. Also, the homeless like to periodically rummage through trash bins in Clarendon Park and leave trash strewn all over the alley. But yet the aldercritter has time to post signs telling pet owners to curb their pets. Gotta have our priorities straight: lecture anyone who is not classified as "oppressed" by the DSA crowd about their class "crimes" of being affluent and ignore the homeless taking over public spaces. February 2026 can't some soon enough. Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we can be free at least from SSS.
ReplyDelete"aldercritter?
DeleteYou summed it all up in
Deletea nutshell especially when said aldercritter of the ward !;
I’ve been calling Alder Angela Clay’s office for a few months about this, they say they can’t do anything. About time someone is listening.
ReplyDeleteI would love to know how many people are actually inconvenienced by this...
ReplyDeleteI can’t wait to vote her out of office. The stupidity and incompetence are mind numbing.
ReplyDeletei hope we can do it. these people are hard to get out
DeleteThe same woman as moved from Sheridan/Leland to back and forth Shridan/Wilson both Southbound for over 3 years. She has behavioral heath issues. She talks to imaginary friends, cusses out the people who approach her with concern, I have watched her take donated food out of the box that was on that corner and throw it away with glee. You can smell the piss from the shelter today from across Wilson. But looking to Clay is a waste of time. Anybody interested in the job? She needs to be replaced. CTA and or the City with CP needs to act. This woman need help and she needs it now.
ReplyDeleteSouthbound and Eastbound.
I share equal frustration and compassion for the homeless using the bus shelters. I actually reached out to Clay's office and did get this response from her office: "This neighbor and the other neighbors currently living in the bus stop are on our radar and receive frequent outreach from the Department of Family and Supportive Services (DFSS) and the CARE Team from the Chicago Dept. of Public Health. I have also reached out to these neighbors to ensure the relevant city departments are conducting outreach and that they are on the path to housing. They are on the Coordinated Entry List (CEL), which prioritizes houseless neighbors for housing.
ReplyDeleteOur office wants to ensure that all neighbors have access to the care and resources they need and we will continue working with relevant city departments to ensure outreach continues until these neighbors can be housed. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns about this situation, I'm happy to set up a phone call to discuss this issue further." The man in the shelter off Sunnyside and Broadway is in a non-motorized wheelchair and has lost both of his legs. Let's all try to be patient and hope that these individuals are placed into some type of housing.
This is America. These folks have been failed by the systems and society. Not cool to barricade a public bus stop but also not cool they probably don’t have any other bettter options and supports.
ReplyDelete