DeKALB – The DeKalb City Council addressed housing insecurity and homelessness in DeKalb at Monday’s meeting. The council also approved a polished intergovernmental agreement for shared police protection services with NIU’s Board of Trustees.
Addressing housing insecurity in DeKalb
Hope Haven Executive Director Lesly Wicks and Family Service Agency of DeKalb County Executive Director Tynisha Clegg spoke about the reasons behind homelessness, insufficient resources and who resources can help.
Clegg said the issue has grown over the years, and her mission when speaking during public comment was to start a solution.
Hope Haven is the only licensed homeless shelter in DeKalb County, but there are other resources that help those in need such as Family Service Agency, Safe Passage and Rooted for Good. Clegg said the agencies need to work together for a solution.
“It’s really important that we all kind of come together and address this as a community versus every agency kind of operating independently,” Clegg said.
Mayor Cohen Barnes agreed with Clegg’s mission and said he’s working to learn more about homelessness. He wants to address the ordinances accordingly and work on the solution.
“The City Manager (Bill Nicklas) and I thought it would be worthwhile to bring to council to just start this conversation of what is the homeless situation we have in the city of DeKalb, and two, where does the council and the city contribute to this issue,” Barnes said.
Nicklas proposed there should be a committee to look into the issue and create recommendations to address the situation.
The council agreed to move forward with the consideration, which will be taken up at a future meeting.
Shared Police Protection Services
The City Council approved a resolution updating a standing intergovernmental agreement between the DeKalb Police Department and the NIU Police Department.
The original intergovernmental agreement from 2014 established limited co-policing initiatives, like authorizing NIU police to issue city ordinance violations.
The proposed agreement allows NIU officers to arrest, cite and patrol the area near NIU’s corporate limits. This area is north of the Union Pacific Railroad and west of Garden Road.
NIU will be responsible for handling all arrests and investigations that are initiated, excluding major crimes such as homicide, kidnapping and arson.
Neither party is entitled to any special kind of compensation or reimbursement for the patrol duties.
Nicklas said the resolution shows necessary cooperation in the community.
“The chiefs of both agencies, their command staffs, have all had a chance to review this. Our respective attorneys have reviewed this. We strongly recommend your approval,” said Nicklas.
The next City Council meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Oct. 6 in the DeKalb Public Library.
