Chicago to remove West Loop homeless encampment to clean area

City authorities plan to remove a group of tents under several West Loop viaducts for cleaning after residents raised safety concerns following recent violence.

The encampments near Union and Ogilvie stations are the subject of an ongoing debate between Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office and Ald. Bill Conway, 34th. Conway previously told the Tribune that a top Johnson adviser tied an offer to address safety concerns there to the alderman’s votes on two key City Council ordinances.

The cleaning is scheduled to begin Monday morning and will include power washing and graffiti removal that requires encampment residents to temporarily remove their tents, a Conway spokesperson said.

The area’s encampments were the site of a fatal shooting Dec. 7. A week earlier, police arrested a man at one of the campsites with a gun and $60,000 in drugs.

Johnson spokesperson Ronnie Reese on Friday described the move as “routine cleaning” that is generally done twice a year.

But while the mayor’s…