Homeless Man, 57, At Church's Faces Public Indecency Charge

JOLIET, IL — Joliet police have arrested a man who was living outside the empty Church's Chicken restaurant that closed last fall at the corner of Collins and Jackson Streets. Police charged Herbert Brooks, a Chicago resident, with public indecency.

The charge is a misdemeanor, and Brooks was released by Joliet police on an I-Bond.

Activists say homeless people often have no access to public restrooms — a situation made worse by the pandemic — and charges such as those against Brooks criminalize behavior homeless people have no choice in.

When Joliet Patch visited the Church's restaurant building at 345 Collins St. on Tuesday afternoon, Brooks was not there.

The Joliet police reports indicate that around 1:15 p.m. on Monday, officers went to the 300 block of Collins for a report of public indecency.

"Upon arrival, officers determined that Brooks was seen by others urinating while standing on a public sidewalk. Officers contacted Brooks, and he was placed into custody," Joliet Police Sgt. Dwayne English notified Patch.

On Tuesday afternoon, the owners of the Figueroa Auto Sales next to the empty Church's told Patch that the homeless man has been living outside the Church's for at least two months, and that he regularly used the public sidewalks to go the bathroom.

The auto dealership showed Patch several pieces of toilet paper that have been discarded near the Church's restaurant property.

The owners of Figueroa Auto Sales told Patch that they and several of the neighbors who live along Collins Street made multiple complaints about the homeless man urinating and defecating on the sidewalks and public alleys and that nothing had been done, until Monday's arrest.

Joliet Patch wrote about the Church's Chicken going out of business last September. To read that article, go here.