Belleville City Council has taken action to strengthen the city’s ban on public camping, which police and other officials have viewed as a worsening problem in recent years.
Such camping was formerly prohibited by a one-paragraph section of an ordinance that governs “offenses against public peace and safety.” On Monday night, aldermen voted 16-0 to amend and expand it.
The ordinance now includes a more detailed, four-page policy, including a formal process by which officials can remove tents, sleeping bags and other personal property from illegal camps.
“I’m all for it,” said Police Chief Matt Eiskant, who sees the amended ordinance as a helpful tool for law enforcement.
According to Eiskant, homelessness has increased throughout the metro-east, most people living in camps are addicted to methamphetamine, some are engaged in panhandling and residents often complain that it makes them feel uncomfortable and fearful.
“Belleville is a great, vibrant community,” Eiskant said. “Our downtown is second to none, and we want people to feel safe.”
The amended ordinance prohibits sleeping in cars or camping in parks, under bridges or viaducts or on sidewalks, streets, lanes, alleys, benches or other publicly-owned property.
It maintains the existing structure of fines, ranging from $75 for the first violation to $750 or jail time for the sixth, although violators could work off fines with community service.
High court upholds Oregon policy
Belleville based its amendments on guidance from the Illinois Municipal League and recent court decisions that clarified what municipalities could and couldn’t do to regulate public camping without violating constitutional rights, City Clerk Jenny Meyer said.
“Anytime you can strengthen your ordinances by following the law, you always want to do that,” she said.
The most significant court case was City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson. In June, the U.S. Supreme court held that criminalization of public camping, as described in that city’s ordinance, didn’t unconstitutionally infringe on the Eighth Amendment rights of homeless people.
The Eighth Amendment protects citizens from excessive bail, fines, and cruel and unusual punishments. Grants Pass penalties for violators ranged from fines to 30 days in jail.
Brad Cole, the Illinois Municipal League’s chief executive officer, declined a Belleville News-Democrat interview this week, but he forwarded a letter that the organization sent in July to municipalities across the state, along with a link to its “model ordinance” on public camping.
The letter quoted a statement issued by the National League of Cities and International Municipal Lawyers Association after the Johnson decision, calling it a “win for local control.”
“This case returns the hard task of solving the homeless crisis to state and local policymakers, where it belongs, with resource support from the federal government,” the statement read.
Advocates decry lack of shelters
For years, cities across the country have been battling with advocates who argue that many homeless people have no choice but to live on the streets due to mental illness, financial hardship and other issues and decry the lack of shelters and affordable housing.
In September, Springfield City Council tabled a vote on a new ordinance to prohibit public camping, after a packed crowd of residents, as well as some aldermen, opposed it.
“The city of Springfield is rushing to add this tool to our tool box without knowing how it would affect our city,” one alderwoman said, according to a story in the Illinois Eagle.
Springfield’s proposed new ordinance was similar to Belleville’s amended one. The latter calls public camping a “nuisance” and states that regulation is necessary to protect public health.
No residents spoke against the amendments at Monday night’s meeting in Belleville, and aldermen approved them without discussion.
City officials can now remove tents, sleeping bags and other personal property in illegal camps. But first they must post violation notices and leave them up for 24 hours, giving owners time to clear out voluntarily.
Officials also must inform agencies that could offer social services.
“(Non-exempt personal property) shall be stored by the appropriate law enforcement agency of the City, for a minimum of 30 days, during which time it shall be reasonably available for and released to an individual confirming ownership,” the ordinance states.
Camps common along bike trails
In recent years, Belleville police have been working with other metro-east departments on issues related to homelessness, including efforts to clear camps along bike trails.
Last year, the village of Swansea saw an increase in complaints about people sleeping in tents, building fires, strewing trash, using illicit drugs, yelling and cursing at passersby and crossing through private yards, according to Police Chief Matt Blomberg.
Around the same time, Belleville residents were reporting burglaries and vehicle and other thefts they believed were perpetrated by people living in camps next to Southside Park and North End Park.
Eiskant said his officers offer Metro passes to homeless people so they can get to a shelter in East St. Louis and refer them to drug-treatment facilities and other agencies that provide social services.
“I would estimate that 90% of the individuals that we come in contact with do not want any assistance,” he said, noting that most shelters prohibit alcohol and other drug use.
Beyond camps, Belleville also has experienced problems with people squatting in vacant, derelict buildings. A man was found dead in a burned garage behind a North Illinois Street home in January.
Editor's note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat. Teri Maddox is a reporter for the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
