Arlington Heights divided on criminalizing homeless behavior —but proposal moves forward

More than a dozen Arlington Heights residents and social-service advocates on Monday urged village officials to take a compassionate approach to homelessness in the downtown area rather than drafting and enacting an ordinance that would criminalize sleeping on benches or in other public spaces.

Several called for the creation of a task force to address the issue.

“Let’s get to work, not to punishment,” Beth Nabors, CEO of Journeys The Road Home said during a lengthy committee-of-the-whole discussion at village hall.

Arresting people for loitering when they have nowhere else to go is “inhumane” and a waste of municipal resources, the Rev. Martha Ross-Mockaitis said.

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