Yorkville approves ordinance that would fine people who sleep on public property – NBC Chicago

Individuals in Yorkville who violate a new ordinance banning sleeping in public places would be subject to a fine or possible jail time, Kendall County Now reported.

At its meeting on Tuesday, the Yorkville City Council approved an ordinance banning “public camping,” which it stated is a “nuisance” and creates “a myriad of concerns,” including those related to public health.

Six aldermen voted in favor of the ordinance, while two others were absent, the news publication reported. Mayor John Purcell didn’t object to the motion.

Under the measure, no one may sleep or “engage in public camping” on “a public sidewalk, street, alley, lane, other public right-of-way, park, bench, or any other publicly-owned property, nor on or under any bridge or viaduct, at any time.”

In accordance with the ordinance, the city will post a notice 24 hours in advance of removing a campsite. If not removed, violators will be assessed fines beginning at $75 for a first offense, rising up to $750 for a fifth violation. A sixth or subsequent violation within a 24-month period could lead to jail time, according to the ordinance.

A “separate offense” could occur the next day after the first fine, Kendall County Now reported. As a result, the fines could pile up quickly.

Numerous communities in Illinois, including Peoria, have passed similar ordinances in recent years.

In September of 2024, the Supreme Court cleared the way for cities to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside in public places, overturning a ruling from a California-based appeals court that found such laws amount to cruel and unusual punishment when shelter space is lacking.

The Illinois Department of Human Rights sent public officials a letter in March, saying Illinois law requires the “administration of access to public spaces in a non-discriminatory manner, including to persons who may be seeking shelter.” IDHR cited the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003 and the Bill of Rights for the Homeless Act.

In its ordinance, Yorkville mentioned the Bill of Rights for the Homeless Act, which grants persons “experiencing homelessness the right to equal treatment by all State and municipal agencies, without discrimination on the basis of housing status, including the right to use and move freely in public spaces in the same manner as any other person and without discrimination on the basis of their housing status, and the right to a reasonable expectation of privacy in their personal property.”