Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, two of the most prominent Democrats in Illinois, are fighting about a growing crisis for their state.
Pritzker expressed frustration with how Johnson has handled the migrant crisis afflicting Chicago, saying he was “deeply concerned” with the mayor’s decision to no longer set up shelter spaces for migrants because of the steep financial cost.
“We do not have enough shelter as it is in the city of Chicago,” the governor told reporters.
In response, the city pointed out that the state “has the authority to fund, stand up and operate a shelter” in any of the state’s municipalities if they choose to do so, including Chicago.
“The city of Chicago has carried the entire weight of the new arrival mission, sheltering nearly every asylum seeker sent to Illinois,” city spokesman Ronnie Reese said in a statement to multiple outlets.
Both Johnson and Pritzker agree that the city and state need more federal assistance to tackle the influx of immigrants pouring into Chicago, but they have been at odds for months over how to approach the issue that is plaguing several other Democratic-led cities across the nation.
A lack of communication between Springfield and Chicago over a permanent tent encampment in Brighton Park only made the dispute worse.
In November, Pritzker announced an additional $160 million in state funding for the camp at Brighton Park, as well as an intake center for migrant processing and a shelter at an old CVS Pharmacy. However, Johnson prematurely announced the aid, causing Pritzker to blast the mayor for not having “moved fast enough” to set up the camps the city proposed in September.
Pritzker eventually killed the plan for the tent encampment in Brighton Park over environmental concerns, driving the wedge between him and the city deeper.
During a briefing with aldermen over the weekend, Johnson announced that shelters are paused indefinitely and the city will turn toward churches and individual people and groups to provide beds for migrants.
Since August 2022, 608 buses have arrived from Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), bringing more than 34,000 migrants into Chicago. There are 28 shelters in operation within the city, holding 14,967 shelter members as of Jan. 16. Zero beds have become available, and 216 single beds are needed as of that date, as well.
The Illinois state government, at Pritzker’s direction, has directed $640 million toward the migrant crisis. As the issue continues to leak into the suburbs, the governor launched a program offering $17 million in additional funding to suburbs that agree to house immigrants.
“These are unprecedented times where immigration is coming right to the city’s front door,” Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso said to Politico. “The mayors, at least for me, understand that this is a broken system at the border. It’s a federal problem. You can’t blame Texas, Chicago, or New York. But you can blame Washington, D.C.”
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At a meeting of the Executive Board of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, Johnson asked mayors to push the federal government for funding and support. He did not, however, implore suburbs to take in asylum-seekers.
“Despite our desire from a humane level — we want to provide the best care possible — we simply can’t do it in small communities. We don’t have the infrastructure, whether it’s financial or personal. We just don’t,” Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns, who is board chairman of the caucus, said.