Chicago's ongoing public restroom drought may soon be drawing to a close with Ald. Daniel La Spata recently informed residents that the city has warmed up to a plan that will bring four new high-tech toilets to the public sphere. The facilities, designed to be self-cleaning and fully funded by advertising revenue, are a part of the city's contract with French company JCDecaux, well-known for its street furniture throughout Chicago, including bus shelters. "We have never been closer to having a public bathroom pilot in Chicago!" La Spata enthused in a newsletter, as reported by NBC Chicago.
Following years of scrutiny over the scarcity of public loos, the move to install new restrooms comes not soon enough. The initiative could potentially curb the troubling trend of public urination and defecation, which has notoriously resulted in police issuing at least 29,000 tickets from 2016 to 2021, particularly in South and West side communities, as highlighted by a 2021 Chicago Tribune investigation. "There is a straightforward path to providing clean and safe bathrooms for every Chicagoan, and this remains the most popular policy that I have worked on," La Spata told constituents last May in anticipation of these structural amenities, also detailed by the Chicago Tribune.
The pilot program is heralded as a crucial step forward, not only for those experiencing homelessness but for all city dwellers who find themselves in need. Ald. La Spata's vision centers around convenience and accessibility for everyone "from the jogger in the early morn to the parent with a child in dire need" as per his newsletter. However, specifics regarding the exact locations and a timetable for the new restroom facilities' arrival are yet to be disclosed.
Serving the city’s neediest, the installation of these restrooms goes beyond comfort. For people like Marcus Carter, who has known the streets as home for over a decade, fresh bathrooms are more than mere amenities—they are essential. "We need (public restrooms), need them real bad," Carter reiterates to the Tribune. Advocates like Ali Simmons, a case and street outreach worker with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, have expressed the dire importance of having such facilities, especially in areas like the Loop where homeless encampments are common. “A lot of times we go past parks, and we see encampments in different parks, but the corresponding restroom areas are not open,” Simmons told the Tribune, capturing the urgency for a dignified solution to a pressing urban issue.
While the addition of four restrooms is recognized as progress, many, including Simmons, argue that Chicago requires more than just a handful to adequately address the needs of its street dwellers and the general public. It's a gesture of decency towards those who've been left to fend off the embarrassment of nature's call unsheltered and without sanctuary. As the city awaits further details, the promise of new public restrooms in Chicago remains a beacon of hope for a more accommodating urban landscape.
