Chicago City Wire

Some residents adjacent to Touhy Park feel like prisoners in their own homes, surrounded by rats, public drug use and threatening behavior that they blame on a year-and-a half old homeless encampment in the park. The dithering they describe by government officials over clearing out the camp has become a flashpoint in the aldermanic race, where incumbent Maria Hadden (49th Ward) faces two challengers.

Resident Antoine Alexander told Chicago City Wire that the “issue is out of hand.”

“Neighbors can’t use the Fieldhouse (the center for activities was closed in September because of the encampment),” Alexander said. “I have a terrible rat problem in my garage and in the alley. The Alderperson can’t keep blaming it on the pandemic. She hasn't done anything about it.”

Rat holes in Touhy Park resident's backyard | Chicago City Wire

Another neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said that he was afraid to even take his dogs out for a walk.

“Drug use and prostitution is out of control. They use the spot near the dumpsters out back as a toilet,” he said. “I have rat holes in my garage. Every time I look out my kitchen window I see them.”

Late last week, Hadden told WBBM Newsradio that they have found housing for 84 from the encampment, and only two people and six tents remain in the Park. She promised to reopen recreational activities in the park in March.

On Monday, a City Wire reporter spotted 12 tents. And one nearby resident said that he recently counted seven homeless people, a number he predicts will swell with the onset of warmer weather as it did last year.

Hadden’s office did not return a call for comment but one of her opponents, businesswoman Belia Rodriquez said that she has heard from a lot of people about the “negative side of allowing that encampment to be there.”

“As equally important as it is to find housing for our people, we need to look at the people being impacted, and value their experience and quality of life,” she told City Wire. “Find them housing and return the park to the community.”

Michele Lemons, spokesperson for the Chicago Park District, said that the District was working with the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) and the Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) “to engage residents who are experiencing homelessness including providing access to services and shelter and information on scheduled cleanings of homeless encampments on park property.”

“The District expects Touhy Park to reopen for the Spring programming session which begins April 10th,” she said.

For her part, Jill Liska, president of the Touhy Park Advisory Council, said that no one has contacted her regarding the status of the encampment and the re-opening of the Fieldhouse.

“The only information I have is what Alderwoman Hadden sent out last week re: Touhy Park,” Liska wrote in an email. “It said the park district would start enforcing curfew (and no camping) sometime in March. I hope it is true. We are looking forward to sponsoring some programming at the park again this year!”

Last May, Crain’s Chicago Business reported that the city targeted homelessness with “a sense of urgency” beginning in 2001, but that it’s difficult to measure how effective the effort has been because it’s so hard to get a handle on the actual size of the problem.

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development uses a Point-in-Time (PIT) metric, the report said, requiring a count every two years to determine federal funding,

"HUD has a much narrower view of homelessness, and the PIT count dramatically undercounts homelessness while pointing to the wrong policy solutions," Julie Dworkin, director of policy for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, said. “In 2019, the PIT count showed 5,290 people in Chicago experiencing homelessness, while the coalition estimated the homeless population to be 58,273.”

Hadden’s other opponent in the race is businessman Bill Morton. Primary election day is Tuesday, Feb., 28, with the consolidated election scheduled for April 4. Early voting has already started.