By John Dempsey, WLS-AM News
(CHICAGO) A suburban Elgin man says he won’t fight an order from the local government that he stop hosting “slumber parties” for the homeless in his basement. Greg Schiller told “The Big John and Ramblin’ Ray Show” on WLS that after he welcomed a group of homeless people into his basement to escape the cold last month, someone reported him to the City of Elgin.
“We don’t believe that the complaint came from a neighbor, ” said Schiller. ” We believe it came from somebody with a personal ax to grind with me. The neighbors here that surround me support what I do. They give us donations all the time.”
Schiller says city officials explained to him he could not make his home into a makeshift homeless shelter, and he says he agrees with that.
“Because of the shape the basement’s in, the ceiling height, the height of the windows from the floor, the size of the windows, and the lack of a second entrance/exit out of the basement, there’s never gonna be any kind of shelter situation down there. Because this is a residential area there’s no way I could get any kind of permit to run any kind of shelter here. Really what we need is a building to house these people. There are other shelters here but they don’t take everybody. They turn a lot of people away for various reasons. There’s a lot of restrictions that will pivot people from getting into the already existing shelters.”
Elgin spokesperson Molly Center issued a statement to NBC 5 in Chicago, saying “While we appreciate those who volunteer to provide additional resources in the community, Mr. Schiller’s house does not comply with codes and regulations that guard against potential dangers such as carbon monoxide poisoning, inadequate light and ventilation, and insufficient exits in the event of a fire.”
However Schiller told WLS he has no regrets about the steps he took to help the homeless escape the brutal cold.
“I saw this as an emergency situation. And I acted.”
2 2017 WLS-AM News
