Your Money for Homeless Shelters Is Buying Riot Gear and Cop-Killer Posters

Tax dollars meant to house veterans and families are secretly fueling Marxist riots, pro-Hamas rallies, and lawsuits that keep tents on your sidewalks—while Illinois businesses bleed, families flee, and kids dodge needles on the way to school.

By Staff Writer October 31, 2025

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Imagine this: A mom in Peoria walks her kindergartener to school. They step over a used syringe, past a man screaming at shadows, and around a tent blocking the sidewalk. Two blocks away, a “For Lease” sign hangs on what used to be a thriving coffee shop. The owner gave up—customers stopped coming after the third break-in by people living in the park across the street.

That’s not just bad luck. That’s your tax money at work.

A bombshell 50-page investigation, “Infiltrated,” just exposed the truth: Billions of dollars meant to get people off the streets are instead paying for protest banners that praise cop-killers, legal funds for rioters, and donations to groups that celebrated the October 7 massacre in Israel.

And it’s happening right here in Illinois—where homelessness doubled in one year, businesses are boarding up windows, and families are packing moving trucks.

The Money Trail: From Shelters to Street Riots

Follow the dollar.

You pay federal taxes. Those taxes go to HUD. HUD hands out $2.9 billion in grants to nonprofits promising to end homelessness.

But here’s what really happens:

“We followed one $250,000 HUD grant from a Chicago shelter to a legal slush fund that bought riot shields for the 2020 anti-police riots. The same group lists Assata Shakur—a convicted cop-killer—as their hero.” — Capital Research Center investigator

That’s not a glitch. That’s the system.

Over 700 nonprofits—raking in $9.1 billion a year from taxpayers and mega-donors like the Gates and Ford Foundations—aren’t fixing homelessness. They’re profiting from it.

They sue cities that try to clear dangerous encampments. They lobby against drug treatment. They fight sobriety rules. Why? Because ending the crisis ends their cash flow.

The Community Toll: It’s Not Just the Homeless Who Suffer

This isn’t just about tents. It’s about your town dying.

• Businesses close: In Springfield, downtown foot traffic is down 42% since 2022. Shops can’t survive when customers won’t walk past open drug use and aggressive panhandling.

• Property values crash: Homes near encampments lose 15–20% of their value overnight.

• Kids lose safety: In Rockford, three elementary schools now have “needle pickup” patrols before recess.

• Crime explodes: Unsheltered homelessness correlates with a 300% spike in theft, vandalism, and assaults in Illinois commercial districts.

“I used to open at 6 a.m. Now I don’t open until 10—too many people sleeping in my doorway, shooting up. I’ve been robbed twice. I’m done.” — Former café owner, Springfield, Illinois

Illinois: Ground Zero for the Crisis

The numbers don’t lie.

Total homeless in Illinois: 25,832 — up 116% in one year. Unsheltered chronic cases: 65%. Emergency room visits by homeless: 62,158 — average seven per person. Homeless deaths: up 37% since 2020. Black residents (just 15% of the population): 47% of the homeless.

In Springfield, the state capital, 388 people slept outside last year—up 27%. Tents line the historic district where Abraham Lincoln once walked.

In Peoria, rent jumped 20%, pushing working families into cars.

In East St. Louis, a 63-year-old veteran froze to death last winter—while a nearby nonprofit used HUD money to train riot arrestees on “know your rights.”

And it’s about to get worse.

Under Governor J.B. Pritzker, Illinois families already face the second-highest property taxes in America. Gas taxes are up. Income taxes are up. And just last night—October 30, 2025—the Democrat-controlled legislature rammed through a new utility surcharge that will add $120–$200 to the average family’s annual electric and gas bill.

That’s $200 less for rent. For groceries. For car repairs.

Pritzker calls it “clean energy.” Families call it eviction fuel.

Experts warn: These crushing costs—on top of 9.1% inflation since 2021—will push thousands more Illinoisans into homelessness or out of state entirely. U-Haul data already shows Illinois leading the nation in outbound moves for five straight years.

The Root Cause: “Housing First” = “Accountability Never”

It all started in 2013.

HUD declared Housing First the law of the land: Give people apartments—no sobriety, no treatment, no questions asked. Sounds kind. But it removed the one thing that works: consequences.

Result?

• Spending tripled

• Homelessness hit record highs

• Deaths soared 77%

“Housing First didn’t end homelessness. It institutionalized it.” — U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, internal review

The Supreme Court Smackdown

In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Grants Pass v. Johnson: Cities can ban public camping.

But 759 nonprofits—flush with your money—fought tooth and nail to keep the tents up. They called clearing encampments “cruel.”

Their real fear? Losing their gravy train.

Trump Fights Back—Democrats Dig In

Enter President Donald Trump.

On July 24, 2025, he signed Executive Order 14321: “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.”

What it does:

• Ends unconditional Housing First

• Ties every federal dollar to results: sobriety, jobs, reduced street counts

• Allows civil commitment for the dangerously mentally ill

• Bans sex offenders from family shelters

• Demands data-sharing with police

The backlash? Instant.

Within 48 hours, the same 700+ nonprofits filed a federal lawsuit to block it.

“They’re not fighting for the homeless. They’re fighting for their paychecks.” — White House spokesperson

Democrats in Congress—led by Illinois reps—rallied to defend the status quo. Why? Power.

These nonprofits are their ground troops: organizing voters, running get-out-the-vote drives, and pushing “racial justice” laws that keep police handcuffed and streets chaotic.

The Radical Infiltration: Your Money Funds Extremism

The report names the players:

• Autonomous Tenants Union Network (ATUN) – Chicago chapter: “We want a world without rent, without landlords, without capitalism.” Used HUD pass-through funds to print anti-police flyers.

• Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) – Shares donors with pro-Hamas groups. Quotes cop-killer Assata Shakur on protest signs.

• Funders Together to End Homelessness – Sent millions to “defund the police” and reparations campaigns—zero to new shelters.

“We don’t cooperate with mainstream nonprofits. We maintain revolutionary independence.” — ATUN manifesto

A Glimmer of Hope: What Real Change Looks Like

Some places ditched Housing First and won:

• Missouri: Required treatment → unsheltered homelessness dropped 40%

• Texas: Enforced camping bans → downtown Houston revived

Illinois could be next—if Trump’s order survives the lawsuits.

The state’s Home Illinois Plan promises $722 million by 2026. But only if the money stops funding riots and starts funding recovery.

The Bottom Line

This isn’t about compassion vs. cruelty. It’s about results vs. revolution.

Every dollar spent on Marxist flyers is a dollar not spent on a bed, a rehab program, or a job training class.

Every lawsuit to keep tents up is a lawsuit against your child’s safety.

Every politician defending this system is defending failure for power.

“I just want a warm bed and a chance to get clean. Instead, they gave me a tent and a pamphlet about abolishing the police.” — James, 44, Army veteran, Springfield

The light is on. The truth is out. Now it’s up to us.

Demand audits. Demand results. Demand your money back.

Because the homeless deserve better. And so do you.

Sources

• Capital Research Center & Discovery Institute, “Infiltrated: The Ideological Capture of Homelessness Advocacy,” October 2025

• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2024 AHAR to Congress

• Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness, Home Illinois Plan 2024–2026

• Illinois Department of Public Health, The Health Toll of Homelessness in Illinois

• The White House, Executive Order 14321

• U.S. Supreme Court, City of Grants Pass v. Johnson (2024)

• U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, Continuum of Care Awards, FY2023