Streetplus Contractors Beat Man Found Urinating In Downtown Evanston

EVANSTON, IL — Employees of the "Streetplus Evanston Clean Team" beat and kicked a man they encountered Monday in downtown Evanston, according to video footage from security cameras released by city officials.

City-owned cameras capture the incident from three angles. It shows a white pickup truck with its bed loaded high with bags of trash pull into a disabled parking spot near Fountain Square shortly after 1:30 p.m.

Five uniformed employees of the New York-based corporation Streetplus emerge from the truck and confront a man who appears to have been urinating on a utility box, according to city staff.

The uniformed employees, all dressed in blue jackets and khakis, speak to the man, who is wearing a green football jersey and a black jacket, for about two minutes before it turns violent.

The video does not include any audio, but it appears that the discussion becomes increasingly heated.

The Streetplus workers at times surround the man, who can be seen raising a hand aggressively without striking anyone, as the workers look to separate him from one of the employees.

A pair of apparent bystanders get involved, seemingly looking to defuse the situation, but the man in the green football jersey pushes one of them aside.

Moments later, a Streetplus employee walks away from the man in the jersey, moving toward the street at about the 2:30 mark of the video released by the city.

The suspected urinator begins to run after him, and his hat can be seen falling from his head as he gives chase.

As the other Streetplus employees follow him into the road, the man begins to back away. The group of blue shirt-wearing figures surrounds him and begins tussling with him in the middle of the street.

The man in the football jersey falls to the pavement and at least two of the workers appear to punch and kick him while on the ground.

One of the bystanders, a bald man in a leather jacket, looks to try to interrupt the beating.

Eventually, the man in the football jersey is able to get back to his feet and the Streetplus employees get back into the white pickup truck and drive away, leaving behind a bag of trash in the disabled parking spot.

"The actions captured in the footage of this incident are disturbing and entirely unacceptable, and are not in line with the City’s values," according to a statement from city staff. "The City has immediately suspended the Streetplus program pending further investigation of this incident."

The Evanston Police Department has opened an investigation into the incident, according to a police spokesperson, after which any charges will be determined.

Under Illinois law, "the knowing or reckless use of force of violence disturbing the public peace by 2 or more persons acting together and without authority of law" is a definition of the offense of mob action, a class 4 felony punishable by sentences ranging from probation to three years in state prison.

The City Council voted unanimously last September to allocate $508,000 in federal COVID-19 relief money to Streetplus to perform cleanup and maintance in Evanston's business districts.

“Ensuring Evanston’s unique and vibrant retail districts are clean and welcoming is essential not only for our small businesses, but for our citywide economic recovery,” Economic Development Manager Paul Zalmezak said in a statement before Streetplus began working in Evanston in November.

“The Streetplus Evanston Clean Team will be a visible, friendly presence in our core downtown business area and neighborhood business districts, working in partnership with business owners, community members, and special service area representatives to make our city shine," Zalmezak added.

At the time, councilmembers voted down an amendment to the contract that would have added an extra $75,000 to the contract to allow for the company to hire someone focused on social services for the homeless people and panhandlers that gravitate to downtown Evanston.

Streetplus President Steve Hillard told councilmembers that it operates nationwide programs with social service workers "serving in conjunction with existing clean, safe and friendly teams across the country," including in Chicago, San Francisco and New York City, to connect vulnerable populations with available services.

Voting in favor of the additional money to Streetplus were Councilmembers Bobby Burns, 5th Ward; Eleanor Revelle, 7th Ward, and Devon Reid, 8th Ward. Alds. Clare Kelly, 1st Ward; Krissie Harris, 2nd Ward; Melissa Wynne, 3rd Ward; Jonathan Nieuwsma, 4th Ward; and Juan Geracaris, 9th Ward voted "no," while 6th Ward Ald. Tom Suffredin was absent from the Sept. 12 meeting.

Revelle, who noted that city-sponsored and grant-funded mobile crisis response team from Trilogy Behavioral Healthcare provides a different service, focusing on homeless people in crisis. The issue of people asking for money downtown is a separate one, according to the 7th Ward alderperson.

"You know," she said, "getting a handle on our panhandler situation is going to be a real challenge."