11 Of The Happiest News Stories That Came Out In 2019

Published December 19, 2019
Updated November 7, 2023

A Good Samaritan Picked Up The Hotel Tab For 70 Homeless People In Chicago

A local news report detailing the tough conditions faced by Chicago’s homeless population.

January is one of the coldest times of the year, which means it is also one of the worst times to be on the streets. For people who are homeless, bearing the cold weather is just one of the many dangers of life.

Earlier this year, temperatures in Chicago dropped below 20 degrees when a propane tank exploded at one of the city’s homeless camps.

Fortunately, nobody was hurt by the blast, but the threat of further explosions was enough to cause the responding emergency crews to confiscate an additional 100 tanks found at the campsite.

Officials scrambled to find temporary shelter for the homeless population living at the campsite and were already making plans to move people to a warming center run by the Salvation Army.

That’s when an unidentified good Samaritan swooped in to offer assistance. Instead of a warming shelter, the person offered something better — to put 70 homeless people up in a comfy hotel and cover the tab.

Jacqueline Rachev, Director of Communications for the Salvation Army who’s been tending to the site this week, was relieved to hear the incredible news.

“All the folks there,” said Rachev. “Some wonderful citizen is going to put all of them up at a hotel for the rest of the week.” Only one out of the former camp’s homeless residents of 70 declined the generous offer and opted for the Salvation Army’s warming center instead.

While the kind gesture might not fix the issue of homelessness in the city, it was a positive inspiration and proof there are good people in this cold world.

author
Natasha Ishak
author
A former staff writer for All That's Interesting, Natasha Ishak holds a Master's in journalism from Emerson College and her work has appeared in VICE, Insider, Vox, and Harvard's Nieman Lab.
editor
Jaclyn Anglis
editor
Jaclyn is the senior managing editor at All That's Interesting. She holds a Master's degree in journalism from the City University of New York and a Bachelor's degree in English writing and history (double major) from DePauw University. She is interested in American history, true crime, modern history, pop culture, and science.
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Ishak, Natasha. "11 Of The Happiest News Stories That Came Out In 2019." AllThatsInteresting.com, December 19, 2019, https://allthatsinteresting.com/happy-news-stories-2019. Accessed January 31, 2025.