The Chicago Park District hired Dannette Salaam for a newly created homeless support specialist position; officials said she has met with more than 60 residents at park encampments and participated in 13 cleanups. The district owns two mobile surveillance units costing nearly $76,000 each plus a $282 monthly service fee, stationed at Ronan Park and Washington Park, and said it is acquiring two more it hopes to have online by the end of the year. Superintendent Carlos Ramirez-Rosa has said there are some 60 homeless encampments in the city, mostly in parks.
The district installed the mobile surveillance cameras at Ronan Park in August after a summer of fires and drug arrests at that encampment.
Renovation of the city-owned Comfort Station building in Logan Square Park began, with a construction fence scheduled to go up Monday requiring people living in four tents beside it to relocate. Ald. Anthony Quezada said about five people now live in the square area, down from about 10 earlier this year, and three people who lived in the square have been connected to housing since the start of summer. The work is set to last through at least May 2027.
A nearby encampment at Milwaukee Avenue and Logan Boulevard was cleared in June 2026 ahead of construction of a public plaza.