Panhandling a part of urban experience?

Being a life-long Chicago-area resident, I have encountered panhandlers on countless occasions. My way of dealing with them varies based on my mood, but also on the way they conduct themselves.

Homelessness at very heart of Chicago

People who somehow manage to show me a touch of manners are more likely to get my sympathy, while those who think they can get pushy are most likely to tick me off and have me give them nothing.

WHICH IS SOMETHING I’m sure will offend those types of people who are trying to urge various local governments – including Chicago and some suburban communities – to repeal the ordinances they have enacted that try to restrict the ability of someone to seek a handout.

The American Civil Liberties Union, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty sent letters this week to 15 municipal governments across Illinois – including Chicago and the suburbs of Aurora, Cicero, Elgin, Joliet and Oak Park – asking them to voluntarily repeal their restrictions.

Implying that the wrath of the ACLU and their allies could be wrought down upon us in the form of lawsuits if we don’t cooperate!

Panhandling? Or entertainment?

The Associated Press reported that the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless thinks laws against panhandling are wrong because they criminalize homeless people for their very existence – and that their actions in trying to get a handout are merely the acts of trying to survive.

THERE ALSO HAVE been rulings by the Supreme Court of the United States in the past that restrict laws against panhandling by describing such activity as freedom of expression. As in “free speech,” one has a right to walk up to you and ask for some spare change.

Of course, my comprehension of “free speech” is that no one is required to actually listen. We have a right to ignore things if we so choose – regardless of the morality behind such an unsympathetic act.

They/re not doing a leisurely lunch at Berghoff

So does the ACLU think we ought to be forced to pay attention to the homeless of our society? I would have a problem with that concept, because I’d compare it to the right of white supremacists to spew their nonsense rhetoric.

They may have a right to think such thoughts and say such trash publicly, but we, the people, have a right to disregard them as a batch of crackpots.

WHICH IS THE way I have been known to respond to beggars when they try to get pushy or intimidating. I have been known to be incredibly blunt and rude in telling them to drop dead.

But other times, if a person has been somewhat polite in their request, I have been known to reach into the pocket and give up some spare change.

Or one other time, I remember I actually pulled out a $10 bill and gave it to a woman – who was so thrilled she’d be able to get a “decent” lunch that day. Of course, she happened to catch my attention at the very moment I was headed to the Berghoff to have lunch with some former work-related colleagues.

I’m sure the lunch I had that day cost much more, and I would have felt like a total cheapskate if I couldn’t contribute a little something to her.

NOW I KNOW some of you are thinking I’m a fool. You’re going to want to believe these people are pulling some sort of scam and are just pocketing the money until it builds up into a significant sum – then they buy liquor or some form of illicit drugs with it to dull their sensibilities. Or that these are people “too lazy” to go out and “Get a Job!”

Nonsense image, but pizza is quite good. Photos by Gregory Tejeda

Although I must admit that if my life were to ever take a turn for the worse that I had to resort to soliciting people for their spare change, perhaps I’d need to resort to using something to numb my braincells.

Which is why I can’t help but notice all the individuals on the street corners with no place else to go and wonder if that is a worst-case scenario for my own life.

Because let’s face it, there are factors in life that can drag down anybody – no matter how superior we may believe ourselves to be.

  -30-

Cut your grass, you slob!!!

As a reporter-type person, I have sat through many municipal-type hearings where our local government officials go into great detail about how well their residents keep up with maintaining their lawns.

What does this ...

Believe it or not, it is a municipal violation that can result in significant fines if you let your grass grow to ridiculous heights.

THERE ARE LEGITIMATE reasons for not letting your lawn return to anything resembling its natural state (ie., prairie grass). Mosquitoes and the West Nile virus can breed in grass that gets too tall.

Although the issue usually gets bogged down amongst concerns from some people who have way too much free time on their hands. They’re the ones who want everybody else around them to match up to their own prissy standards of what is proper.

Which is why a legitimate concern over grass height often gets camouflaged in hysteria – people think there’s some sort of freedom of express in letting their grass become unkempt.

I bring all this up because of the latest quirky story to gain national attention – that of a man who lives in suburban Park Ridge who let his grass grow as high as 20 inches.

HE JUSTIFIED IT by saying that he’s a Chicago Blackhawks fan, and he was going to let his grass grow until the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup (which could be sometime next week, if they play well against the Boston Bruins).

Naturally, there are those who see such talk as being silly. They called the village, which sent out an inspector who issued him a warning. The Chicago Tribune reported that the man (whom I don’t feel the need to give any more publicity than necessary) initially thought the warning was just a water bill.

The end result is that the village had a landscaping company they use for such work come in and mow his lawn – which is creating a mixture of reactions.

... have to do with this?

Tyranny at work. Evil, corrupt government telling a man what to do with his own property, then personally taking control of the situation when he refuses to comply with their petty demands!!!!

THAT’S A LITTLE over the top, but it is the way some people perceive this issue. Although there also are those who think they’re being cute. I read one nonsensical piece of commentary that claims all people should stop mowing their own lawns, since the local governments are now so willing to do it for you after awhile.

Personally, I wouldn’t buy into that logic – mainly because some governments hire private landscaping companies to perform such grass-cutting services. While some send out a crew of workers with the Public Works Department to do the job.

Either way, you’re talking about having to pay a professional rate to compensate those employees for the time they spent cutting your sloppy, ill-kempt grass. It’s not like conning a neighborhood kid with a $10 bill to do the lawn for you.

And for repeat offenders, there always are the possibility of tickets issued by the police – in addition to the cost of the grass-cutting itself.

THEN, THOSE PEOPLE could complain about government run amok – charging you all these dollars to support government programs and services that they will claim they never use.

Although the next time you flush your toilet, keep in mind that it is a government entity that is maintaining the system that ensures your waste does not get mixed with the drinking water supply. And also pays for those police who keep watch over your neighborhood.

Which is to say that I can’t help but think it a bit silly for someone to think they’re making any kind of statement about hockey by letting their summertime grass grow to ridiculous heights.

If he really wanted to make a statement, he’d somehow turn his lawn into an ice rink. He could skate around with joy (and perhaps land flat on his bottom) when, and if, the Blackhawks actually manage to win.

  -30-