Letters To The Editor
The Restore Gompers Park Coalition in its letter “Parks shouldn’t be housing sites” (Sept. 24) is right about one thing: Tents in public parks are not a long-term solution. However, blaming park encampments solely on city inaction ignores a hard truth: Encampments are the direct consequence of failing to fund the very systems needed to prevent and end homelessness across our city.
When Chicagoans had a tangible opportunity to establish a dedicated, permanent funding stream to address chronic and acute homelessness through the Bring Chicago Home referendum, voters rejected it by a 54% to 46% margin. We cannot deliberately vote down the revenue required to build deeply affordable housing and provide essential behavioral health and social supports, and then express shock, anger and dismay when unsheltered neighbors have nowhere else to turn.
The coalition notes that 19 residents accepted assistance when Gompers Park was cleared, while others were simply displaced across the street to Eugene Field Park — where even more unsheltered people joined them in the following weeks and months. Indeed, the city’s 2026 Point-in-Time Count shows that the number of people counted living on the streets, in encampments or at transit stations rose to 1,641 — an increase of nearly 25% compared with the 2025 survey. This game of municipal musical chairs illustrates why enforcement and temporary shifts fail every time.
Without a major expansion of permanent, deeply affordable housing (rather than transitional tiny home camps), street-level prevention services and strong wraparound care, people will naturally seek shelter in public spaces. Traditional public shelters are simply not a viable option for everyone, particularly individuals dealing with severe trauma and complex health needs.
