Criminalizing Houselessness
Last updated on November 22, 2024
Criminalizing Houselessness
We cannot arrest our way out of houselessness and poverty.
We have seen cities across the state introduce ordinances that would criminalize people who are unhoused – imposing fines, fees, and even jail time for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go.
These ordinances ignore the real solutions to the problems of homelessness. Fines and fees simply exacerbate them.
Communities in Illinois need to pursue serious answers to homeless rather than relying on illusory criminal solutions.
In 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Grants Pass v. Johnson that the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment does not prohibit cities from punishing unhoused people.
The Supreme Court decision is not a green light for cruel policies that drive people who are unhoused further into debt and adds another obstacle to finding secure, stable housing. We should all show up in our communities to oppose such ordinances.
Steps you can take if an criminalization ordinance is advanced in your community:
- Contact the ACLU of Illinois. We want to know where you are seeing attempts to criminalize houselessness in your community. And we may be able to help you and others you recruit to fight back against the efforts.
- Attend a public meeting to oppose these ordinances, whether by preparing your own remarks, standing in solidarity with those who do, making signs, or otherwise showing your support in a peaceful and respectful way.
- Write emails, make calls, or speak directly to your local officials.
- Write an op-ed or letter to the editor in your local paper.
- Activate others to take action along with you.
Talking points to use when the government is considering criminalizing houselessness in your community:
- We cannot arrest our way out of homelessness and poverty.
- We should not be punishing people who have nowhere else to go.
- Imposing fines, fees, and jail time further exacerbates the financial insecurity of those experiencing houselessness.
- Instead of further harming people, cities should be investing in real solutions to decrease houselessness in their communities.
- These fines will fall disproportionately on people of color and those with disabilities.
- Making sleeping in public spaces a criminal offense expands interactions with police.
- These ordinances often are applied unfairly and include exemptions for “recreational” events.