Current Events > Elgin (Chicago) Man Told to Stop Housing Homeless by Police.

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https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/elgin-greg-schiller-slumber-parties-homeless-cold-467714563.html

A suburban Chicago resident who was offering up slumber parties in his basement for homeless people in his neighborhood during dangerously cold weather says city officials have given him an ultimatum.

Stop the slumber parties or the house will be condemned.

Greg Schiller, of Elgin, said he began letting a group of homeless people sleep in his unfinished basement last month during brutally cold nights, offering them food, warm beverages and a cot to sleep on while watching movies.

I would stay up all night with them and give them coffee and stuff and feed them, he said, adding that no drugs or alcohol were allowed inside his residence during the evening events.

Last winter, Schiller offered up his garage to area homeless, but said he was told he could no longer do so after EMTs were called to help a man with a heart condition. Thats when he had the idea to move them to his basement complete with all the activities needed to consider them simply slumber parties.

Schiller believed city code allowed for slumber parties, but officials said there are "sleeping regulations" for basements and Schiller's basement doesn't meet those requirements.

"While we appreciate those who volunteer to provide additional resources in the community, Mr. Schillers house does not comply with codes and regulations that guard against potential dangers such as carbon monoxide poisoning, inadequate light and ventilation, and insufficient exits in the event of a fire," city spokesperson Molly Center said in a statement.

Schiller said city officials and police officers came to his home with a warrant Tuesday and went into his basement. There, he said they found his ceiling height too low and windows too high and too small to be an egress.

They shut me down and said I have 24 hours to return my basement to storage and take down - I have several cots with sleeping bags for everybody or theyll condemn the house.

Center confirmed that Schiller was given 24 hours to clear the basement in an emailed statement, adding, "If not, the City will take additional enforcement action to compel the removal of the unlawful basement sleeping area."

Officials had earlier threatened citations for other violations at the home, which is owned by Schillers girlfriend, including a broken window, a fold-up trailer on the property and a portable toilet he had set up for the group to use, Schiller said.

Im trying to help these people get out of the cold, he told NBC 5. Theres not a lot of help for them as far as places to lay their heads.

Schiller said he only opened up the basement when an area shelter wasnt available.

He noted that some shelters in the area require homeless to meet a specific set of criteria and others open only when temperatures reach a certain level.

PADS of Elgin confirmed that there are requirements to be eligible for their services, but declined to specify what that criteria included.

An emergency shelter at First United Methodist Church of Elgin, operated by the organization Matthew 25:40, opens when the temperature outside is 15 degrees or less.

Schiller said he hosted his slumber parties when wind chill values were 15 degrees or less, but would not offer up the basement if the emergency shelter was open.

Its cold enough to freeze to death, he said.

Matthew 25:40 did not immediately respond to NBC Chicagos request for comment Tuesday.

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"Elgin has lawful shelters that provide a safe space for people to go throughout the year," Center said in a statement. "In times of extreme temperature, temporary locations open within the community that all conform to regulations and codes."

The city also noted there is a women's shelter and other facilities around the area where people can go. A full list can be found on the city's website.

Temperatures Tuesday in Elgin were forecast to reach a high of only 6 degrees, meaning area shelters should open. They aren't expected to warm above the threshold again until this weekend, when they could rise back into the upper-20s. It's not clear if shelters plan to remain open.

Schiller said that while he does plan to stop hosting his slumber parties, hes working to find other options for taking care of the homeless he now knows so well.

Somebodys going to die, he said.

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Acab
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No one considers Elgin a suburb of Chicago, it's way too far away.
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"It's not safe to have these people in your basement! Let's instead put them out on the streets where they could freeze to death, or in a homeless shelter where they can get robbed and raped!"
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Burgess posted...

No one considers Elgin a suburb of Chicago, it's way too far away.

How many do you suppose know what/where Elgin even is?

Also, please stay on-topic.
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Soooo, dying from unlikely carbon monoxide poisoning or a fire is worse than a pretty much guaranteed death if you're exposed to the weather outside for a relatively short period of time?

Edit: I forgot carbon monoxide poisoning doesn't kill you, it just makes you slightly crazy like that one dude on Reddit demonstrated

Edit: fuck it I dunno
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I am staying on topic since you are the one that made the topic title. Which is stupid wrong.
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god bless the nanny state keeping people safe
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Burgess posted...

I am staying on topic since you are the one that made the topic title. Which is stupid wrong.

My heart bleeds for displacing the great citizens of Elgin, Illinois.
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Sounds like the homeless have other options that do meet city regulations. Maybe he should go work there if he wants to help.
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eston posted...

Sounds like the homeless have other options that do meet city regulations. Maybe he should go work there if he wants to help.

If those options were readily available I imagine the homeless folk wouldn't be roaming the streets causing this guy to be able to round them up.
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just one specific, and particularly awful, example of how zoning and land use regulations screw over the poor
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_OujiDoza_ posted...

eston posted...

Sounds like the homeless have other options that do meet city regulations. Maybe he should go work there if he wants to help.

If those options were readily available I imagine the homeless folk wouldn't be roaming the streets causing this guy to be able to round them up.

Maybe they don't know where it is. He could help by taking them there.
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eston posted...

_OujiDoza_ posted...

eston posted...

Sounds like the homeless have other options that do meet city regulations. Maybe he should go work there if he wants to help.

If those options were readily available I imagine the homeless folk wouldn't be roaming the streets causing this guy to be able to round them up.

Maybe they don't know where it is. He could help by taking them there.

Yeah I'm sure he's got a decommissioned bus/passenger van laying around ready to handle the task.
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_OujiDoza_ posted...

Yeah I'm sure he's got a decommissioned bus/passenger van laying around ready to handle the task.

it'd probably be illegal because it is in the jurisdiction of the local metropolitan planning organization to conduct nonemergency transit services or some shit like that anyway
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eston posted...

Sounds like the homeless have other options that do meet city regulations. Maybe he should go work there if he wants to help.

what a terrible post
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_OujiDoza_ posted...

eston posted...

_OujiDoza_ posted...

eston posted...

Sounds like the homeless have other options that do meet city regulations. Maybe he should go work there if he wants to help.

If those options were readily available I imagine the homeless folk wouldn't be roaming the streets causing this guy to be able to round them up.

Maybe they don't know where it is. He could help by taking them there.

Yeah I'm sure he's got a decommissioned bus/passenger van laying around ready to handle the task.

The point is there are other ways he can help the homeless that are within the law. Meanwhile you sit here making up excuses as to why he can't.
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Paper_Okami posted...

Acab

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eston posted...

The point is there are other ways he can help the homeless that are within the law. Meanwhile you sit here making up excuses as to why he can't.

1) he said they weren't open
2) he said they wouldn't take everyone

you haven't responded to the substance of this except to say that he could bring them some where according to the city, which may or may not be true. you could at least figure out if it is before trying to defend it
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Burgess posted...

No one considers Elgin a suburb of Chicago, it's way too far away.

That was my first reaction as well. At the most, I'd say that Elgin is absolutely as far to the west as you can go while still categorizing it as part of Chicagoland.
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Elgin is like 45 minutes away from the city maybe even an hour with traffic
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This the kind of thing that results in the creation of libertarians.
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cant even have people in your own home without the nanny state butting into your business wtf
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K181 posted...

Burgess posted...

No one considers Elgin a suburb of Chicago, it's way too far away.

That was my first reaction as well. At the most, I'd say that Elgin is absolutely as far to the west as you can go while still categorizing it as part of Chicagoland.

I wouldn't even consider it part of Chicagoland. I would say that West Chicago is as far out as you can get with that.
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_OujiDoza_ posted...

The city also noted there is a women's shelter and other facilities around the area where people can go. A full list can be found on the city's website.

This isn't as helpful as it sounds to the people who need the help.
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UnfairRepresent posted...

This the kind of thing that results in the creation of libertarians.

you'd like to think that, but in practice, not really, because homeowners like to regulate undesirable people away from themselves and most people aspire to homeownership

things like the building code and zoning are among the few regulations that otherwise libertarian-ish conservatives almost always like in my experience at least
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Balrog0 posted...

eston posted...

The point is there are other ways he can help the homeless that are within the law. Meanwhile you sit here making up excuses as to why he can't.

1) he said they weren't open
2) he said they wouldn't take everyone

you haven't responded to the substance of this except to say that he could bring them some where according to the city, which may or may not be true. you could at least figure out if it is before trying to defend it

The city says they have accommodations. The story does not give much more info than that, but I find it hard to believe that this man's basement is the only place for them to go.
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Burgess posted...

K181 posted...

Burgess posted...

No one considers Elgin a suburb of Chicago, it's way too far away.

That was my first reaction as well. At the most, I'd say that Elgin is absolutely as far to the west as you can go while still categorizing it as part of Chicagoland.

I wouldn't even consider it part of Chicagoland. I would say that West Chicago is as far out as you can get with that.

Eh, Elgin is only slightly further away. I think the Fox River is a reasonable western boundary. Calling it Chicago at that point is only slightly less ridiculous than calling Rockford Chicago, though.
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eston posted...

The city says they have accommodations.

yeah and he said they didnt

eston posted...

The story does not give much more info than that, but I find it hard to believe that this man's basement is the only place for them to go.

why? do you do much outreach into the homeless community in your area, or do you have some other relevant personal experience with the system?
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Unless you have some other piece of information that the story doesn't divulge, you can get off my back.
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Balrog0 posted...

you'd like to think that, but in practice, not really, because homeowners like to regulate undesirable people away from themselves and most people aspire to homeownership

And that doesn't matter if 2 in 10 of them are helping others if the government doesn't step in
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UnfairRepresent posted...

And that doesn't matter if 2 in 10 of them are helping others if the government doesn't step in

I don't know what this is supposed to mean, all I am saying is that this sort of thing has been going on for a very long time and there is no evidence it makes anyone more libertarian to learn of it. It doesn't even make most people dislike these rules!
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Balrog0 posted...

UnfairRepresent posted...

And that doesn't matter if 2 in 10 of them are helping others if the government doesn't step in

I don't know what this is supposed to mean, all I am saying is that this sort of thing has been going on for a very long time and there is no evidence it makes anyone more libertarian to learn of it. It doesn't even make most people dislike these rules!

This is the government and law enforcement cramping down

Not private homeowners.
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