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Ordinance Would Ban Homeless Camping at Public Library

SRINGFIELD, Ill. - Springfield's mayor wants to keep homeless people from camping at the city's public library.

 

Homeless people find overhangs at the Lincoln Library inviting.

Mayor Jim Langfelder proposed the ordinance "to make sure it's safe to be around the library."

 

It would ban anyone from spending a significant amount of time on the grounds from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. Loiterers would be asked to leave and ticketed for trespassing if they refused.

 

But city attorney Jim Zerkle says there would be a "period of education and opportunities to give warnings."

 

The city council's committee-of-the-whole will discuss it Tuesday.

The public library named for Springfield's most famous citizen is separate from the state-operated Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.