CITY HALL — Chicago will spend another $70 million this year for its ongoing response to the migrant crisis, five months after Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2024 budget allocated $150 million for the new arrivals mission.
Alderpeople on Friday voted 30-18 in favor of the added spending, which will come from the city’s “assigned fund balance reserve” from 2022, according to budget officials.
The allocation follows a joint $250 million pledge in February from the state of Illinois and Cook County for shelter and other services for migrants coming to Chicago and Illinois.
That initial announcement came after a “long-term planning exercise” determined local governments needed another $321 million to maintain shelters and services in 2024, according to a news release in February.
The Cook County Board of Commissioners on Thursday approved $70 million to reimburse the city of Chicago for food and potentially shelter costs for asylum seekers, the Tribune reported. The county has been overseeing health care costs for migrants. Gov. JB Pritzker has included a $182 million ask for migrant funding in his fiscal year 2025 budget proposal, which is being considered by the General Assembly.
The funding pledge from the state and county did not include any commitment from the city of Chicago, which set aside $150 million in its 2024 budget in the fall. News reports at the time suggested Johnson had initially committed to asking the City Council for the additional $70 million before backing away from that promise — something the mayor has denied.
But two months later, Johnson asked alderpeople to approve that exact sum. The spending was approved Monday by the budget committee before Friday’s final vote.
The added funding comes six months after numerous alderpeople — critics and allies of Johnson — questioned whether the city’s initial $150 million would be enough for all of 2024.
The number of asylum seekers living in city-run shelters has dropped significantly this winter and spring, but it’s widely expected more migrants will arrive in Chicago this summer ahead of the Democratic National Convention.
As of Friday, 8,971 asylum seekers are living across 18 city shelters, down from almost 12,000 at the end of February and almost 15,000 at the end of December, according to city data. The city has closed 10 shelters since the beginning of the year, including several that had been in Park District field houses.
City budget director Annette Guzman told alderpeople on Monday the latest city funds — combined with another $48 million in state and federal dollars alderpeople approved Friday — will help the Johnson administration establish one unified, streamlined shelter system for all unhoused people, instead of the separate systems for migrants and everyone else.
“This funding enables the city to provide greater coordination, collaboration, and resources dedicated to the Mission, and continue investments toward building a unified shelter system to provide care and support for anyone experiencing homelessness, both new arrivals and other Chicagoans in need,” the Mayor’s Office said in a statement this month.
Guzman also said the $70 million would be the Johnson administration’s last request to the City Council for migrant funding this year. The mayor confirmed that Wednesday and again called on the federal government to step up to provide adequate resources for Chicago and other cities where thousands of asylum seekers are being sheltered.
“We have what we have. We don’t have an inordinate amount of reserves, and the federal government has to act,” Johnson said. “There are very little to no options available to us, if the federal government does not come in strong.”
Alderpeople unanimously signed off on the state and federal spending. But the lengthy debate over the $70 million in city funds grew contentious, with some alderpeople making unsubstantiated claims about migrants and the city’s response.
Northwest Side Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) said he was a “hard hell no” vote on the funding and the money should instead prioritize longtime city residents who are dealing with problems of their own. Several alderpeople earlier this week pointed to last summer’s destructive West Side flooding as an example of where the reserve fund dollars could potentially be spent instead of the new arrivals mission.
“Let’s invest in our Black, Brown and white communities to help, I don’t know, Chicago,” Gardiner said. “Let’s help veterans find housing. Let’s build better schools and parks for our kids.”
That sentiment was echoed by West Side Ald. Emma Mitts (37th), who voted against the measure.
“I don’t see my kids and my children and my neighborhood getting that type of support. I have to tell you that even coming out of COVID, where is the help for them to be able to get back?” she said. “I’m not voting no because I don’t like someone, I’m voting no because no one bothered to try to help me, or help any of my [constituents].”
Far South Side Ald. Anthony Beale (9th), a frequent mayoral critic, said without providing evidence that Venezuela had “sent” all of its criminals to Chicago.
“From what I understand, there’s absolutely no crime in Venezuela right now. Why? Because they sent all of their problems to us. They send them all to us to deal with,” he said.
Numerous alderpeople immediately pushed back on that rhetoric. Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) said Beale’s comments were “not rooted in anything factual, but merely a statement to incite fear.”
Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st), who voted for the funding and spoke in favor of its passage, said Chicago has a duty to migrants to provide a “sustainable path” until the federal government steps up and provides resources and opportunities for them.
“Everyone who is here is a Chicagoan, regardless of their status. They’re Chicagoans. And I firmly believe anyone who is a Chicagoan deserves our care, our generosity and our compassion,” he said.
Ald. Nicole Lee (11th) also voted for the funding and agreed with other supporters that it would be “irresponsible” not to approve the $70 million. Without it, migrants could end up once again living in police stations or on the street, she said.
But echoing comments from earlier this week, the Bridgeport and Chinatown alderperson urged Johnson’s administration to be more transparent with how the dollars are spent on shelters and other contracts.
“How these funds are dispersed has to be shared transparently with the City Council and in detail,” Lee said. “The reality is, this $70 million is going to help us lock arms with the county and the state together to do this. But we have to do that in a way that is transparent. We owe that to all of the residents of the city of Chicago.”
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