After weeks of the ward’s alderman asking Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration to remove a West Loop homeless encampment struggling with safety issues, a man was shot and killed Thursday, adding fuel to an already contentious debate.

       Officers responded to the intersection of North Clinton Street and West Lake Street at 12:50 a.m. and found an unresponsive man who’d been shot in the chest. He was transported to Stroger Hospital in critical condition and was later pronounced dead, police said.

       Advertisement

       Debate over tent encampments in the area stretches back beyond the recent controversy to the administration of then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot. In October 2022, activists resisted when the city sought to temporarily move newly donated winterized tents in the area for sidewalk cleaning.