Madison’s ban on sleeping outside of the City County Building went into effect Thursday night. The building has long served as an unofficial homeless shelter.
Local clergy gathered Thursday evening to protest the new ordinance, with many saying it criminalizes poverty. Reverend Stephen Marsh of Lake Edge Lutheran Church was one of the speakers.
“Why can’t some of the building cranes we see dotting our landscape, instead of building skyscrapers and high rises, why can’t some of those be building housing for those who are homeless?” said Marsh.
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Earlier this week, Madison’s city council approved the multimillion-dollar Judge Doyle Square downtown development project. County supervisor Al Matano said that money could be better spent.
“Rather than worrying about the impact on tourism, I think what we should be worrying about is whether or not our brothers and sisters will be freezing to death,” Matano said.
Many of the homeless have already moved across the street to the city’s Municipal Building.
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