New winterized tents in Chicago bring shelter security for the unhoused, but spark questions of permanency
CHICAGO — A potential showdown is looming in Chicago's Fulton Market area over the arrival of 10 winterized tents for unhoused individuals living under nearby Metra tracks, as the city quickly gave the tent dwellers notice that the shelters must be removed by the morning of Nov. 3 for “off-street cleaning.”
The bright orange heated tents — which include a foundation, heating and lighting — arrived Saturday, assembled by Andy Robledo, founder of the nonprofit Feeding People Through Plants, who said he’s built similar shelters in other homeless encampments around the city without issue this year. But by Tuesday, the city’s Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) slapped red notices on his newest tents, alerting people that they must remove the shelters from the premises before the cleaning.
Robledo believes officials are attempting to undo his work and push unhoused people out of the area. The city maintains that this is just a temporary move to carry out necessary cleaning.
Caught in the middle are the unhoused people who say they are grateful for the warmth and shelter the tents bring just as temperatures start to drop.
“It’s the best shelter,” Shawn Scott said outside his tent on Tuesday as rain
