Elgin is seeking an organization to take over operation of the shelter it’s set up at Lexington Inn & Suites to house homeless residents.
Proposals to oversee the city’s Unsheltered Pilot Program were solicited at the end of 2025, and officials are now reviewing the concepts submitted before making a selection, according to city spokesperson Josie Beecher-Crotty.
The city is seeking “an experienced, mission-aligned organization to assume ownership and operation of a 96-room hotel as a low-barrier, non-congregate homeless shelter with wraparound services and 24/7 staffing,” according to the request for proposals posted.
The organization that wins the city contract will “manage the facility and present a sustainable five-year operation plan and budget,” the proposal request said.
The city does not currently own the hotel at 1585 Dundee Ave. but plans to purchase it once a management group is chosen, Beecher-Crotty said. Right now Elgin can contractually use up to 50 of the 96 rooms available, and is currently housing people in 32, she said. The rest of the rooms are available for rent by other patrons.
The Unsheltered Pilot Project is supported through a $1.8 million state grant, which pays for both housing and case management, Beecher-Crotty said.
When the city moves forward on the hotel purchase, it would use reserve budget money and seek additional grant funding to pay for the building.
Elgin first started housing homeless people at the Lexington Inn in 2025 after two fires at a tent city set up along the Fox River off Route 31 drew attention to the dangers of allowing people to set up makeshift homes and use homemade furnaces for heat. A decision was made to tear the huge encampment down and to move its residents to the hotel if they were agreeable.
Initially, 40 residents were to be housed there for 120 days. It was later extended to continue for another year.
“The direction to transition (the hotel into) a longer-term shelter model developed over the course of 2025 as part of ongoing discussions about strengthening the city’s homelessness response system,” Beecher-Crotty said.
When parents from the nearby Elgin Math and Science Academy raised concerns about a homeless shelter being located so close to the school, prompted in part by a man who fled onto the campus after trying to evade an arrest warrant, the city hired security guards and added a surveillance system.
Kathryn Martinez, the school’s executive director, said they would work with the city should it move forward with making the hotel a permanent homeless shelter.
“We recognize that the city of Elgin faces a crisis around homelessness and, as an organization, Elgin Math and Science Academy believes in building a better world,” Martinez said in a statement. “We are committed to providing a safe environment for our students and staff and continue to work with the city in close collaboration with us, should this project come to fruition.”
They would like to see extensive screening and safety and security protocols put in place, she said in her statement.
“We have advocated to the city to ensure that proposals are reviewed for clear messaging and enforcement of individuals who may come onto our property and that clear action is taken to ensure EMSA student safety is a prominent theme throughout the proposal,” Martinez said. “Our desire is that the city only selects a provider if they can truly show they can safely and effectively run the Lexington Inn and Suites as a permanent shelter.”
The city contract with Lexington provides access to up to 50 rooms, but participation right now is based on available funding and service capacity, Beecher-Crotty said. “The city has taken a phased approach to ensure individuals are stabilized and connected to resources before increasing participation,” she said.
Elgin’s pilot program is a partnership with the Association for Individual Development (AID), which provides case management. Elgin provides the housing component, which is described as a low-barrier shelter.
Low-barrier shelters have no requirements such as income or identification. According to the Illinois Housing Development Authority, a “non-congregate homeless shelter” is a place that provides private units or rooms as temporary shelter to individuals and families and doesn’t require occupants to sign a lease or occupancy agreement.
Case management includes assistance in finding permanent housing, job training and healthcare.
With AID assistance, “participants have secured employment, transitioned into more stable housing and connected to services that support longer-term stability,” Beecher-Crotty said.
Other community partners in the initiative include Ecker Center for Behavioral Health, Elgin Cooperative Ministry, Elgin Township and Food for Greater Elgin.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
