Midwest
Chicago removes largest homeless encampment, relocates tent residents into apartments and shelters: report
Chicago officials reportedly cleared the largest homeless encampment in the city after relocating some residents into apartments and shelter beds.
According to the Chicago Sun Times, the encampments in Humboldt Park, amounting to “roughly 90” per city data, were removed after nearby homeowners shared safety and health concerns and demanded action from city officials.
“Other neighbors have focused on providing food and necessities to the tent occupants,” the Times reported.
Many Chicago residents have been railing against housing an influx of migrants in their neighborhoods since the beginning of the year. (Screenshot/Fox 32 Chicago )
The effort has been a priority for Ald. Jessie Fuentes of the 26th Ward. He explained further to the Times that “the city had moved 39 residents into apartments and was working on apartments for 24 others.”
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“The encampment was more than three times bigger than the next largest Chicago tent city, according to a city count obtained by the Sun-Times through a request under Illinois’ open-records law,” the outlet reported.
“The city is offering shelter beds to about two-dozen others. At least one couple is lined up for a hotel room,” the outlet reported.
City officials reportedly recently began ramping up encampment clean up and posted “Notice of Enforcement” signs around Humboldt Park last month, warning “that overnight presence and unpermitted tents would not be allowed after Friday at 9 a.m.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson gives an update on migrant issues at City Hall on Jan. 29, 2024, in Chicago. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
A family of occupants in the tent city had left their tent with hopes of getting help with shelter from a city staffer, only to return to find their tent removed by Park District personnel.
The family who requested anonymity was reportedly identified as Venezuelan and natives of the “central Venezuelan city of Valencia.” They told WBEZ that they had been living in the park for three months.
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“Reached hours later by WBEZ, the father said he did not know where they would sleep Friday night. By mid-afternoon, the family was in touch with city officials working on their shelter placement,” the Times reported.
The effort to relocate the tent dwellers into shelters and apartments is a first for city officials as they have not done that during tent removals in the past.
Sendy Soto, the city’s first chief homelessness officer who was appointed in April, said at a Friday news conference that “every single person has had all of their needs met.”
The growing encampments came after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed at the Republican National Convention to continue bussing migrants from the southern border to sanctuary cities. (Getty Images)
“This really demonstrates this collective effort between the city of Chicago and the alderman’s office,” Soto said.
The latest notable encampment cleanup effort was around the last Democratic National Convention.
Chicago’s city council denied that the cleanup of homeless encampments containing migrants has anything to do with the DNC.
The growing encampments came after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed at the Republican National Convention to continue bussing migrants from the southern border to sanctuary cities.
City officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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A Michigan State student appeared to be brandishing a knife and running toward officers when he was shot in multiple waves of police gunfire, according to body camera video of the deadly confrontation released Friday.
MSU senior Isaiah Kirby, a 21-year-old Maryland native, was killed on April 15, and Friday marked the first time video of the fatal gunfire was shown to the public.
East Lansing police were called to Lake Lansing and Abbot roads on a theft call that “evolved into a stabbing by a suspect, which turned into an officer-involved shooting,” the department has said.
The officers’ video showed them driving to the scene when a man, identified by police as Kirby, came running toward them in the middle of the road. Kirby was brought down by an initial hail of gunfire as he came in their direction, video showed.
Kirby, screaming in agony, was on his knees as officers ordered him to drop a knife, according to video. Police then shot Kirby in two more hails of gunfire, with the first and last shots coming about 17 seconds apart, video showed.
“I want to thank the officers and employees of the East Lansing Police Department for their continued professionalism during this investigation,” said East Lansing Police Chief Jennifer Brown, who narrated the video.
“Furthermore, I want to thank the East Lansing community for their patience and understanding as this investigation proceeds,” she said.
Karyn Kirby, the slain student’s mother, and family attorney Teresa Bingman did not immediately return calls seeking comment early Friday evening.
Kirby’s family was shown heavily redacted footage last week that the slain student’s loved ones said didn’t show why deadly force was necessary.
“Where’s my truth? Where’s my transparency?” Karyn Kirby told supporters earlier this week.
“We have asked from the onset, to see raw, clear, unedited video,” she added. “That’s all I ask. It’s not that hard, right?”
The Michigan State Police are continuing to investigate the use of force by East Lansing officers, officials said.
East Lansing police identified the four officers involved in the shooting: field training officer Beck Martin, who has been on the job for three years; two-year veteran officer Brennan Surman; officer Benjamin Saylor, who has been on the job for one year; and officer Zane Johnson Chasteen, who has been on the job for three months and was paired with Martin.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – Families and officers gathered outside the state capitol on Friday to remember and honor Minnesota’s fallen law enforcement officers.
Families honor loved ones killed in the line of duty
What we know:
The Peace Officers Memorial Day event began with a 24-hour vigil Thursday night, where officers from around Minnesota stood guard at the memorial.
The day included moments of silence, the playing of Taps and several wreath-laying ceremonies.
“Every once in a while, something tragic happens and somebody dies in the line of duty,” said Chief Brian Hubbard, president of the Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association, which organized the service.
According to organizers, 314 officers have died in the line of duty in Minnesota.
Behind every name is a family, a story and painful memory.
Tina Arendt of Cold Spring was young when her father, Stearns County Senior Sheriff’s Deputy Edwin Arendt, 61, died in the line of duty in November 1987. On Friday, she laid a wreath in his memory.
“It was just a random accident out in the middle of the country, and he didn’t make it home,” she recalled. “Things I remember about him – he loved his job. He loved being out helping people. There wasn’t a day that he wasn’t proud and honored to wear the badge.”
The event was as much about supporting families as it was about honoring the fallen.
“The main heart behind doing this is to make sure that those family members, those survivors left behind, know that we won’t forget about them,” said Hubbard.
The vigil and service at the memorial
Timeline:
The 24-hour silent vigil began Thursday night and ends Friday night. Officers took turns standing guard at the memorial throughout the day and night.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A resident of a home was able to escape serious injury Friday following a house fire in Kansas City, Missouri.
Crews were dispatched around 12:33 p.m. Friday to the 8000 block of Euclid Avenue in Kansas City.
The one-story residence had “heavy smoke and fire” showing when firefighters arrived, per a press release from KCFD.
The fire department brought one person from inside the house to safety, and the individual did not need medical treatment.
City Planning and Dangerous Buildings was requested.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.
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