AUBURN GRESHAM — State officials joined South Side neighbors Wednesday to voice their concerns about the city’s ongoing migrant crisis and proposed plans to build winterized tent cities.
It was a packed house Wednesday night at Auburn Gresham’s Healthy Lifestyle Hub, 839 W. 79th St., as state Sen. Willie Preston and Rep. Cyril Nichols joined dozens of neighbors to answer questions and listen to feedback about the city’s surge in migrant arrivals. Preston unexpectedly announced the town hall on Tuesday.
Neighbors were vocal in their disapproval of the increasing numbers of migrants coming to Chicago, with 294 of 395 total buses carrying migrants having arrived since May 12, according to city data. Many questioned why South Side communities couldn’t receive adequate jobs, homes or resources while federal dollars went to the migrant crisis.
Preston, who represents the state’s 16th district and lives in Auburn Gresham, asked if neighbors “wanted a vote on the ballot if Chicago should be a sanctuary city or not.” The majority of hands shot up.
“I’m here to fight for the people who elected me. … You all are my boss, so boss me,” Preston said.
The surge in migrant arrivals has overwhelmed the city in recent months. More than 3,100 migrants were being housed at police districts across the city as of Wednesday, according to a city spokesperson. Local officials have set up more than 20 temporary shelters to house the population.
Mayor Brandon Johnson announced plans in September to move thousands of migrants out of police stations into winterized base camps modeled after New York City shelters. Johnson’s administration recently signed a $29 million contract with Virginia-based GardaWorld Federal Services to build the tent cities.
One proposal called for erecting the tent shelters on a Roseland lot set to be redeveloped, a plan fiercely opposed by neighbors.
Johnson received pushback from alderpeople and activists who questioned the validity and safety of the deal with the controversial company. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has also voiced concerns about the tent camps, saying the city should instead use vacant buildings to create shelters.
Preston doesn’t “understand the haste” to build the new tents, he said Wednesday. The city is taking neighbors’ “tax dollars and using that to do business with a Canadian company,” he said.
Preston told neighbors he would vote “no” on any state budget decisions that provide funding for the winterized tent camps. Nichols encouraged neighbors to vote and support their local officials to see active change.
“We can’t spend millions and millions on people who just got here while I step over my people lying in tents,” Preston said. “We can’t keep taking on new tasks when we haven’t handled the first ones yet.”
Preston said he will take neighbors’ concerns back to the state Senate floor.
“We’re going to keep on fighting this,” he said.
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