We are a group of citizens concerned for homeless people. On August 12, 2025, the Yorkville City Council passed an ordinance (2025-57) prohibiting public camping in Yorkville which specifically targets homeless individuals. Local citizens expressed objections to the ordinance at the following three council meetings. The Council, after listening to these concerns, passed two amendments. We continue to have serious concerns about the intent and application of the ordinance to effectively provide help for unhoused individuals.
The ordinance is problematic in that we believe it to be in violation of the IL State Bill Of Rights for the Homeless Act (Public Act 098-0516). In addition, we believe criminalizing the homeless is both unethical and immoral. Furthermore, this approach is ineffective in solving immediate, short term and long-term housing issues.
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We strongly support a safe community governed by public laws. Yorkville has multiple existing ordinances that address civil behavior of citizens regardless of their housing status. Therefore, we believe the ordinance to be redundant.
Although the ordinance has been passed, we believe there are underlying issues that should be addressed by and for our community. We recommend that the City Council support the development of a task force to address local housing issues. In addition, the task force would identify gaps in available social services and work toward efficient communication to best provide for the needs of homeless community members. This is the time to proactively create a response system for the expected increase in homelessness.
Citizens Concerned for Homeless People
Alison Metz
Anne Engelhardt
Cecilia Martinez
Brian Kubisek
Kevin Ryan
Caroline McCree
Ernie Marcelain
William Davidson
James Metz
Jerry Engelhardt
Cynthia Kottke
Rev. Elizabeth Hartung
Austin Martinez
Jane Wollenweber
Johanna Byran
Kathleen Schultz
Fred Dickson
Peg Trumble
Doug Trumble
Bob McGee
Alicia Castillo
