We are a group of Hyde Park and Kenwood residents committed to preserving our neighborhood’s welcoming values.

As neighbors, we have seen the Lake Shore Hotel used as a shelter, first for migrants in 2023/24 and then for local homeless people, without any major concerns. Crime, trash, noise, and other problems have not noticeably increased. The neighborhood is always changing: seasonally as students come and go, and in the longer term as the population grows and new construction goes up. It doesn’t make sense to single out this one group of shelter users and say that they will destabilize the neighborhood.

Some neighbors have complained that the shelter should not be located in a dense residential neighborhood. But isn’t that the best place for it? Shelter users, many of whom have jobs and children, need  access to nearby schools, transit, parks, and stores just like the rest of us.  It does not make sense to try to warehouse these people far away from existing residential infrastructure.

The shelter will bring some direct benefits to the neighborhood, such as foot traffic for local businesses and greater transit ridership. It will also preserve our values as an open, generous community, rather than a gated enclave. Welcoming the shelter and its residents is the right thing for us to do.

Contact local decision-makers and tell them you support the shelter:

5th Ward Alderman Desmond Yancy  
Call:  773-324-5555 
Email:  ward05@cityofchicago.org 

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson 
Call: (312) 744-3300
Email: letterforthemayor@cityofchicago.org 

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker
Call: (217) 782-6830 or (217) 782-6831 (Springfield)
Call: (312) 814-2121 (Chicago) 
For hearing impaired: 888-340-1009 

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle
Call: (312) 603-6400  
Email:  info@tonipreckwinkle.org

13th District Senator Robert Peters  
Call: (217) 782-5338
Text: (773) 830-2598
Email:  info@senatorrobertpeters.com 

25th District State Representative Curtis Tarver II  
Call: (217) 782-8121 
Call: (773) 363-8870
Email:  office@repcurtisjtarverii.com 

Chief Homelessness Officer Sendy L. Soto
Call: (312) 744-2796 
Email: sendy.soto@cityofchicago.org