Oak Lawn Ordinance for Temporary Shelters: What You Need To Know

LETTER TO EDITOR REGARDING OAK LAWN'S PROPOSED TEMPORARY SHELTER ORDINANCE: In a previous post, I shared the full text of the Village's proposed ordinance to restrict temporary homeless shelters. Here, I list some talking points you can use when engaging Village leaders and your social networks. Again, the Village will take up this ordinance at its next Planning Commission Meeting on Monday, November 6th at 7:30 PM in the Village Hall. I urge you to attend and voice your objections, or contact Village President Sandra Bury, Village Manager Larry Deetjen, and/or your Trustee (see lefthand sidebar).

Village of Oak Lawn Proposed Homeless Shelter Ordinance
Key Talking Points

The proposed ordinance violates our religious freedom. All major Western faiths charge their followers to care for the most vulnerable members of society. Faith calls us to feed, clothe, and shelter the homeless. The proposed ordinance restricts our ability to do so.

As a result, the ordinance violates the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which prohibits government from “substantially burden[ing] the exercise of religion without compelling justification,” which the Village obviously does not have. At the same time, we are fundamentally committed to these resolving this issue through reasonable negotiation, not the courts, as that would burden us even further.

The proposed ordinance stereotypes the homeless as criminals. Statistically, homeless individuals are more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators of violent crime. They include some of the most vulnerable groups in our society, like veterans, victims of domestic violence, the mentally and physically disabled, the working poor, and single-parent families. The proposed ordinance will make them more insecure.

• Note: Village officials may present anecdotal evidence of homeless individuals causing a public nuisance and/or committing misdemeanors and other minor offenses; however, these stories do not represent the homeless or their behavior as a whole. They may also attempt to link perceptions of a growing number of homeless individuals in Oak Lawn to the fact that the crime rate has risen in the past year (the latter was a prominent fact in Trustee Bob Streit's recent mayoral campaign). That type of argument fails to establish causality between the two facts, and, ultimately, relies on the stereotypes of the homeless described above.

The proposed ordinance denies opportunities to the homeless. Onsite case managers at shelters help homeless individuals reach healthcare, employment, and housing services. Restrictions give them fewer chances to improve their situations, which is fundamentally unfair given that the homeless include members of so many vulnerable populations.

The proposed ordinance bullies us into compliance. The ordinance has no real motivation (see “The Village has mislead the community” below). It arbitrarily restricts shelter operating procedures, which have been continually refined over 20 years of experience. The ordinance will not make shelter or neighborhood residents safer but will make our work more difficult, if not impossible.

The Village has mislead us. Oak Lawn has implied that a reckless outside agency threatened to establish a shelter in a family home in Oak Lawn. Its ordinance, they claim, will prevent that from happening in the future. In reality, an area church (Mount Zion Lutheran Church) was simply polling neighborhood residents about the possibility of using an empty parsonage to serve dinner, while its basement, which normally served as a shelter space, hosted an AA meeting.

The Village has rejected the democratic process. The Village scrambled to pass this ordinance, and it gave us only hours to respond. After we voiced our concerns, officials objected to the community reaching out to them, ironically saying that it undermines the democratic process. In fact, it has done the exact opposite by ensuring no law passes without deliberation and compromise. Even after hearing our concerns, the Village has made no real changes.

The Village has refused to compromise. After learning about Mount Zion’s preliminary plans, the Village hurriedly drafted this overreaching ordinance, instead of engaging in conversation with us. It now seeks to push the law through with only cosmetic changes in response to our concerns.

The Village can affirm its position as a state leader by shelving this ordinance. Prominent communities throughout the Illinois suburbs foster networks similar to ours. If Oak Lawn listens to our grievances and renews its commitment to its most vulnerable, it will maintain its place among them.