In Nov. 2023, Connections for the Homeless, a local nonprofit focused on helping the homeless, purchased the Margarita Inn to turn it into a permanent shelter for those in need of a home, after much city-wide debate on the issue. This accomplishment was celebrated on Tuesday, Feb.13, in an event that allowed participants to tour the former hotel and listen to several speakers talk about the history of the organization, plans for the hotel and the struggles of purchasing it.

The event featured talks from many notable community members, including Mayor Daniel Biss. All the speakers gave their opinions on the purchase, and their thoughts on the next steps for the organization.

First to speak was Pastor Monte Dillard, President of Connections Board of Directors. He thanked the many attendees for supporting the organization, and celebrated the victory of purchasing the hotel.

“We want to celebrate a new era in the life at Connections for the Homeless and the tremendous accomplishment of securing this residence for all of our participants,” said Dillard. “We want to extend the deepest gratitude and appreciation to all of the elected officials who have supported this process.”

He also went into detail about the history of Connections for the Homeless. The organization launched in 1984, starting in the basement of Lake Street Church and working to help support homeless individuals. A group of religious leaders told the City of Evanston about their plan to start a shelter to address the growing numbers of homeless people, but the City of Evanston refused their vision. However, the religious leaders found a way around this, holding an ‘all night prayer vigil’ instead of calling it a shelter. This location came to be known as Hilda’s Place, named after one of the organization’s leaders.

Two years ago, by emergency declaration, Connections for the Homeless began to operate within the Margarita Inn, using the space as long-term housing for the homeless. The need for the extra space was realized during the COVID-19 pandemic, as all the residents of Hilda’s Place slept in the same common room. The lack of customers, due to the pandemic, at local hotels proved the Margarita Inn the ideal supplementary shelter. Finally, after much controversy in the City Council, the purchase was approved in the fall of this year. Today, both Hilda’s Place and the Margarita Inn serve as part of Connections for the Homeless, helping almost 200 people every year.

“Instead of what I was describing before where you have to exit every day, now you have your own space, you’re not in a congregate setting, you have a door, a lock, and you can be there throughout the day,” said Eric Ruder, Director of Communications for the organization, when talking about the Margarita Inn location. “It’s more like a temporary apartment.”

Next up to speak was Toni Rey, a neighbor to the Margarita Inn in support of Connections’ purchase, who talked about her experience living next to the shelter. However, when the purchase of the Margarita Inn was proposed, not everyone was as strong of a supporter as her. There was much controversy after landlord and real estate developer Cameel Halim sued the organization over their purchase plans. He owned properties nearby the Inn and argued that turning it into a homeless shelter would lower property values and reduce the quality of life for non-shelter residents living there. 

“Once there was an effort to purchase the Margarita Inn and turn it from a temporary thing to something that was more permanent, there started to be push back from people who said ‘yeah, that was great that you did that stuff but we don’t really want this in our backyard for the long term,’” said Ruder. “It became a real debate within the City Council and the whole community of Evanston about what our city can or should do to support homeless people.”

In Biss’ speech, which occurred later in the event, he acknowledged the controversy surrounding the purchase.

“Yes, those local officials who voted for this project got their butts kicked, for a while. But they held firm, and they explained why they believed in this project, what it means, what it doesn’t mean and why it’s good for the whole community,” Biss said. “And I think that today, in 2024, the great majority of Evanstonians are proud to be the home of the Margarita Inn.”

The event also featured a talk from former Margarita Inn resident Jelani Davis, who gave a personal account of his time at Margarita Inn. He moved into the Inn in November of this year after being diagnosed with congestive heart failure. On Feb. 10, he was able to move out of the Inn and sign a lease for his own apartment.

“This place, Connections, has really, really been a big, big difference in my life for the good,” said Davis. “I’m learning basically how to live with this condition, and hopefully for the better, I’ll be able to pivot.”

Toni Preckwinkle, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners; Josina Morita, 13th District Cook County Board Commissioner; Christine Haley, Chief Homelessness Officer of Illinois and Rich Monocchio, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Public and Indian Housing all spoke after Davis.

“As Cook County Board President, I’m immensely proud of the progress we’ve made thus far,” said Preckwinkle. “Together we’ve demonstrated that we can build a more resilient housing system to implement innovative approaches to combat homelessness.”