There are growing concerns over a homeless encampment in the South Loop.

People have lived on the streets in the area for quite some time. Yet recently, residents say the stench and garbage have gotten out of control. However, there are legal limits the city is facing when trying to clear the way.

Chinatown is typically envisioned as a clean and welcoming area, but a block away, under the CTA Red Line overpass, a different scene with trash littered on the ground

"It's not the welcome sign I want when people as they're entering," said Ald. Nicole Lee (11th).

Along Cermak Road between Wentworth and Clark, the leftover food and overflowing garbage all spill outside tents at a homeless encampment.

"A lot of these encampments generally generate a lot of trash," Ald. Lee said.

She said the calls coming into her office are not so much about the people but the lack of upkeep surrounding those sleeping in the corridor.

"It's not illegal in the City of Chicago to sleep on the street. It's a complex process in terms of how we address it. Obviously, we don't want safety hazards for anybody," she said.

The complaints about the encampment are magnified not just because of how it looks, but also because it sits just steps from an elementary school, leaving children to see some of the illicit activity that happens there, also.

"There is drug use that we know of that is going on. We've had reports of people seeing hypodermic needles," Ald. Lee said.

She said the city has limitations and is required to put a two-week warning notice. 

"I can't just pull up a trash truck and throw everything away and kick people out of their tents, that's inherently part of the challenge," she said.

Moments after talking to the alderwoman, Chicago Streets and Sanitation crews were out at night clearing trash, not tents.

"Is it an issue of safety, or is it that we're uncomfortable seeing an encampment?" said Doug Schenkelberg with the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness. 

He said often the sight of the encampments leaves people to think they're unsafe.

"The presence of an encampment doesn't necessarily mean that there's a safety issue," he said.

Schenkelberg adds that funding is key to preventing what keeps popping up on Cermak and other parts of the city.

"So, the root cause of all this is the lack of affordable housing and services for folks," he said.

As the city works on the ongoing housing issue, Ald. Lee said she will work to keep the area cleaner.

"This is really one of those issues we need all hands on deck," she said.