DeKalb residents say no to public ‘camping’ fines as Council tables vote: ‘Cruel and unjust’

Update: A large crowd attended the DeKalb City Council meeting Monday night, many to voice opposition to what one resident called a “cruel and unjust” proposal that would give the city power to fine those found sleeping or “camping” in cars or in public places. A vote was tabled.

A large crowd attended the DeKalb City Council meeting Monday night, many to voice opposition to what one resident called a “cruel and unjust” proposal that would give the city power to fine those found sleeping or “camping” in cars or in public places. Though a vote on the controversial ordinance was on the agenda, DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes informed the crowd before the start of the meeting that plans had changed. The Council voted 6-1 to table a decision on the proposed “public camping” ordinance.

Ward 7 Alderman John Walker voted against taking it from the agenda, saying he wanted to offer residents an explanation behind the proposal. And Ward 1 Alderwoman Carolyn Zasada was absent. Many residents who spoke argued the city’s drafted code change wasn’t compassionate, would unfairly target people who are homeless and could contribute to harmful stigma surrounding those down on their luck.

“Homelessness can break a person’s spirit, causing or exacerbating mental illness or substance abuse,” resident Megan Willis said, to some applause from the public. “Labeling those who struggle with those burdens as a public nuisance is like pouring salt into an already festering wound.” “To criminalize people in one of life’s hardest, most stigmatized situation is unjust and cruel,” she said.

“There is no easy fix for homelessness, but at the very least, people deserve compassion and assistance. The proposed ordinance is not compassionate and offers no assistance.” Rowan Badger, 35, spoke about his own experiences being homeless and with a disability.

“The fact is, anyone could become homeless due to circumstances entirely out of their control at any time,” Badger said. Barnes said the decision to table a vote was made before the meeting. He said many on the Council fielded significant public response over the weekend.

“It’s because of a lot of the feedback we got from people and the Council,” Barnes said. A week after a man authorities said was homeless was charged with sexually and physically assaulting multiple women downtown , DeKalb city officials proposed a fine that would have created a new section of city code about public safety and outlaw what officials are calling “public camping,” documents show. The city said that the proposal was meant to abate potential violent behavior.

Maurice Kemp, 33, was charged in the July 2 assaults and remains in custody without release at the DeKalb County Jail pending trial. Chief David Byrd previously told Shaw Local officers took Kemp into custody within minutes of the first reported assault. Under the ordinance as drafted, violators would incur a $50 fine for a first violation or be subject to immediate removal from the campsite or location by the DeKalb Police Department .

Those who pay the fine within 21 days or appear before a city hearing officer to appeal could qualify to clear their record, according to city code. If the fine goes unpaid or the violator doesn’t show in administrative court, they could be slapped with fines up to $150. Some social services agencies – including DeKalb-based homeless shelter Hope Haven and Family Service Agency of DeKalb County, which operates a shelter for youth – spoke out against the ordinance Friday .

Hope Haven executive director said she worried the policy would contribute to “anti-homeless sentiment” in the community. Ward 5 Alderman Andre Powell said that wasn’t the city’s intent. He said he doesn’t agree with fining people who are homeless.

Many on the Council offered their own opinions on the matter despite the tabled vote, defending a desire to help people who are homeless and saying the public wasn’t getting the full picture. “I think this was portrayed as an attack on [the] homeless and it’s not,” Powell said. “The ordinance was more so for public safety, for the whole community, and the homeless are part of our community.

So, the theory that we’re trying to attack the homeless, that’s not true at all.” Barnes – who’s been vocal before about his desire to address homelessness in DeKalb – thanked the Council and city staff for their efforts. He said his ad hoc city committee, comprised of representatives from various social service agencies in DeKalb, will continue to work toward cooperative initiatives to aid those in need.

City officials didn’t set a new date for a vote or detail what those initiatives might look like, but said the topic would remain in public discussion. “What we have is a solution that doesn’t work,” Barnes said. “It’s broken.

It’s flawed. So, what we’re trying to do is figure out how we can be a part of what we can do in order to be a catalyst for change, how we can be a part of the conversation.” The Family Service Agency issued a lengthy statement Friday clarifying their role as an advisory one on the mayor’s committee, and saying their staff didn’t partake in any conversation surrounding the proposed fines.

Ward 2 Alderwoman Barb Larson said the city’s goal for the ordinance was one step in a larger plan, though didn’t detail what that plan was. “We’re trying to get them into society so that they are on their own, living without a tent around them,” Larson said of people who are homeless. “I look at the tent thing as being like, ‘Oh, how could you do that?’

Because I think if that’s all you’re going to do for them, you’re really not doing anything for them. We want to give them more than tents.” Walker, who requested that the Council have some discussion on the topic before it was tabled, offered what he said was an explanation of the proposal.

He urged the public to “stop always critiquing everybody and come with solutions.” He called the proposed fines “absurd,” but said he was thinking of the victims from the July 2 assaults. Walker said many people refuse help that the city offers, or shelters run out of available beds.

He said the city does what it can to aid social service providers. In February , the Council gave $10,000 to Hope Haven in residual COVID-era relief funds, and distributed $300,000 to area social service agencies. “We are policy makers.

We’re not police officers, we’re not firefighters, we’re not any of that. We’re policy makers,” Walker said. “And when I took this chair, my job is to protect the people in DeKalb and allocate whatever they need in order to protect the citizens of DeKalb, Illinois.

Our kids, our friends, our people.” Some residents who spoke thanked the city for tabling the ordinance, and cautioned against further ones like it. “These ordinances are not helpful for anyone,” Sata Prescott said.

“It does not promote safety as others have said. It does not help the people who are the victims themselves of these situations and it does not foster any further good life for anyone. This is the wrong approach.”

This story was updated at 10:50 p.m. July 13, 2026. Check back for further updates.