The city is taking a significant step toward housing people from a homeless tent camp in Gompers Park on the Northwest Side, according to the alderperson who represents the area.Ald. Samantha Nugent (39th) told residents in an email Thursday night that the city agreed to begin an “accelerated moving event,” a process that's been used in other parts of the city to more quickly shelter people and has eventually ended encampments.Nugent received word in a letter from a city official last month that the process would begin Feb. 24. The letter was signed by Brandie Knazze, who was then the commissioner for the Department of Family and Support Services.The accelerated move has been requested by a group of residents who want the unhoused people to leave the park, though an actual closure is a separate process and can take weeks. Some residents pressured Nugent for months to move the tent camp and its residents from the 42-acre park at Foster Avenue and Pulaski Road, saying the number of people staying there rose significantly last summer. At its peak, more than two dozen tents were at Gompers in 2024.On Friday afternoon, a number of tents had been taken down or appeared to be unoccupied. Related Tent camp on the Northwest Side is at the center of a battle over homelessness Nugent said last year she had been told the city didn’t have the money to move the unhoused people camping at Gompers. Neighbors questioned why other areas of the city had been targeted for the removal of similar tent camps.She said there has been some progress moving people from Gompers. Last month, three individuals agreed to move to a shelter in Rogers Park, Nugent said in her letter.Since September, city officials, including those trained to respond to opioid use, have been visiting the park, she said.As the name implies, the accelerated program speeds up efforts to get people into housing . It won't immediately shut down a camp. A group of neighbors calling itself the Restore Gompers Park Coalition said in a statement it was pleased and motivated by the news. The group alleged residents of the tent city had damaged parts of the park, and some coalition members have said they felt unsafe.“We are hopeful Gompers Park will again become a safe and welcoming place for all to visit,” the group said in a statement.In late September, hundreds of residents showed up at a community meeting held next to the park to hear from city officials, including Sendy Soto, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s chief homelessness officer.Many were upset to learn at the meeting that the tent camp would not be removed until this year.Monica Dillon, an advocate for the unhoused and an outreach volunteer, said neighbors' anger over the encampment was "unfortunate," but noted the accelerated housing program would be a positive for those remaining at Gompers."Rehousing is a process that takes time and cooperation from everyone, including the housed community," Dillon said.