Napierville bans homeless camping downtown
Published: Oct. 7, 2009 at 5:34 PM
NAPIERVILLE, Ill., Oct. 7 (UPI) -- A homeless man argued in vain against a city ordinance that kicked him off the streets of a Chicago suburb where he has camped for years.
Scott Huber, 58, denies he is homeless and told the Napierville (Ill.) City County he was being persecuted in a "spiritual warfare battle."
"There is no excuse for those affluent and holier than thou in Napierville to violate federal law and ban my presence," Huber said prior to Tuesday's vote on the ordinance banning sleeping, camping and storing personal property downtown.
The Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald said Wednesday that the ordinance, which passed 6-1, was aimed at removing Huber's campsite.
"To me this is an encampment that's been going on for a while and getting bigger and more elaborate in the last couple years than a lot of us can handle," Councilman Richard Furstenau said. "It's time we put an end to this."
The city attorney said the ordinance was written to protect the economic vitality of downtown Napierville and would stand up to legal challenges.
