Chicago Solves the Homeless Problem

It looks like Mayor Daley and the administration in Chicago have solved the problem of homelessness (from Special Report):

There is a battle in Chicago over just how many homeless people are on the streets. Democratic Mayor Richard Daley says homelessness is down 12 percent the last two years — and Daley's government comes to a figure of just under 6,000 homeless on the streets.

But the Chicago Sun Times reports a 15 week foot patrol of the downtown area revealed a new number for how many people are sleeping outside each night — 24. That's right — just 24!

The housing commissioner says — "the public perception is it should have been a higher number, but we couldn't find it."

Homeless advocates are livid. The executive director of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless says the count is "ludicrous" — and says the city is trying to "sanitize" its image to bolster its chances of winning a bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games.

I've long suspected the problem of homelessness was overstated in an effort to extort funds from local and federal governments, but I can't imagine it was THAT overstated.