Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness (CCH) condemns an executive order signed today by President Trump, which encourages state and local governments to rob U.S. citizens of their rights and basic human dignity rather than take meaningful steps to solve homelessness.
The order prioritizes federal funding for jurisdictions that take punitive and unethical actions, such as punishing people for sleeping on the street and forcing individuals facing mental health or substance use challenges into treatment facilities against their will. These approaches are not only inhumane, they are also ineffective and counterproductive.
Our nation’s leaders have the power to meaningfully address homelessness but have repeatedly chosen policies that deepen the crisis. This executive order follows a pattern of harmful decisions that disproportionately impact Black and Brown Americans and those who are already living on the brink, including reckless cuts to healthcare, food assistance, and education. This disparity is particularly stark in Chicago, where 70% of people living on the street are Black, despite Black residents making up just 29% of the city’s total population, according to point-in-time data released this month.
“Trump’s misguided actions are hurting real people and making an already impossible situation worse,” CCH Executive Director Doug Schenkelberg said. “This administration is spreading untruths about the root causes of homelessness, when the real drivers are clear: unaffordable rent, stagnant wages, and the rising cost of basic necessities.”
This executive order comes just a year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v. Grants Pass, which allows cities to penalize people for sleeping outdoors if they have just a blanket to stay warm—even when they have nowhere else to go. Since then, cities across the country have rushed to make it a crime to be homeless. In fact, Illinois ranks second only to California in the number of municipalities that have adopted these ordinances.
We know what works: housing everyone can afford and lifesaving services to help unhoused people get back on their feet. Holding funding hostage and forcing people into treatment won’t address the systemic inequities that force people into homelessness.
We urge our leaders, at the city, state, and federal level, to reject harmful, attention-grabbing policies and invest in proven solutions that help people escape homelessness for good.
