* Click here for the press release. The Illinois Department of Human Rights Director Jim Bennett and the Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness sent a letter to local governments today, warning them about criminalizing homelessness and their obligations under state law in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson. The letter included a warning that “Enacting and enforcing ordinances that interfere with the rights of persons experiencing homelessness to access public spaces may give rise to legal action”…

Dear Illinois local public officials:

As a valued government partner, this letter is being transmitted to provide you with guidance, analysis, and resources following the recent U.S. Supreme Court opinion addressing laws that regulate camping and other sleeping activities on public property. The majority of localities have not changed their approach of providing care and compassion to people experiencing homelessness. Unfortunately, several units of local government have enacted or are considering enacting ordinances that may unduly restrict access to public spaces by creating penalties, fines and, in some instances, providing for the incarceration of persons experiencing homelessness. The information below serves to remind local public officials that Illinois law requires the administration of access to public spaces in a non-discriminatory manner, including to persons who may be seeking shelter. It is our collective responsibility to avoid any discriminatory infringement of these rights in violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003, and the Bill of Rights for the Homeless Act.

We understand that local public officials face difficult challenges in responding to the needs of persons experiencing homelessness within their jurisdictions. While you have a responsibility to ensure public health and safety, you must do so in a way that protects the right to access public spaces in a nondiscriminatory manner. This can be accomplished by working collaboratively with local, state and federal agencies (especially social service agencies), non-governmental organizations, and public safety agencies. Persons experiencing homelessness are often targeted for discrimination, harassment, and violence and local public officials should exercise caution before penalizing or excluding persons from public spaces, including those who rely on access to those spaces for their survival.

As local public officials responsible for ensuring nondiscriminatory access to Illinois public spaces, we share the following obligations that govern the execution of your responsibilities and duties:

• Bill of Rights for the Homeless Act (BRHA) protections. Under the BRHA, persons experiencing homelessness have the right to equal treatment by all State and municipal agencies, without discrimination on the basis of housing status. Persons experiencing homelessness have the right to use and move freely in public spaces, including but not limited to public sidewalks, public parks, public transportation, and public buildings, in the same manner as any other person and without discrimination on the basis of their housing status. Persons experiencing homelessness also have the right to a reasonable expectation of privacy in their personal property.

• Illinois civil rights statutory protections. Under the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA), no person may deprive another of the full and equal enjoyment of a place of public accommodation based on actual or perceived protected characteristics. A Public Official is specifically prohibited from denying or refusing the full and equal enjoyment of facilities and services under their care. […]

Ordinances that target persons experiencing homelessness for unequal treatment may have the effect of imposing unjustified harms based on protected characteristics under the ICRA or IHRA. For example, Black Illinois residents are almost eight times more likely to be homeless than white Illinois residents, a racial disproportionality that is double the national rate. People experiencing homelessness may also be disproportionately likely to be veterans, have a disability, or be survivors of domestic violence protected by an order of protection9 – all protected characteristics under the IHRA. Units of local government should take care to ensure that their ordinances are not enforced in a manner that imposes unjustified disproportionate harm on vulnerable populations.

• Constitutional protections. Public officials may not infringe on the constitutional rights of those who seek to use public spaces by, for example, denying equal protection, due process, or First Amendment rights to indigent persons or persons experiencing homelessness. As the Supreme Court observed in Grants Pass, regulations on homelessness may not infringe on these fundamental constitutional rights. For instance, the Supreme Court observed that a city that selectively enforces a public-camping ordinance only against homeless persons may be vulnerable to legal challenges under “due process and our precedents regarding selective prosecution.” […]

Local public officials should be mindful of the broad protections under the BRHA, Illinois civil rights statutes, and the Constitution when considering ordinances that unduly restrict, create penalties/fines, or provide for incarceration of persons experiencing homelessness for seeking shelter in public spaces. Enacting and enforcing ordinances that interfere with the rights of persons experiencing homelessness to access public spaces may give rise to legal action. Public officials are reminded that the IHRA prohibits retaliation against a person for complaining about discrimination or harassment, and prohibits the aiding, abetting, compelling, or coercing of a person to commit a violation of the IHRA – such conduct may also give rise to legal action.