* A reporter asked Gov. Pritzker today about what payment arrangements have been made with GardaWorld now that the tent city it was building has been canceled…

So, from the state, the understanding with GardaWorld is that they will do other work with us. And they knew as they were building this shelter, before the environmental report came in, that it was possible that the environmental report wouldn’t allow the completion of the shelter.

And so they understood that and they were willing to take that liability on through the state’s contract. I can’t speak to what may have pre-existed or been in place with the city. Meanwhile, they are going to be involved and have been working to help us stand up other shelters. Remember, even the bricks and mortar shelters that already exist need work. And GardaWorld is helping us to complete that work very quickly so we can get people sheltered in the right places.

* Asked what else was happening as far as site building goes…

We’ve been working together with the Archdiocese of Chicago. They have a number of buildings that they’ve made available over time. And so we’re continuing to look at the sites. A few of them are better than others. But I want to compliment the Archdiocese and especially the Cardinal because they’ve worked from the very beginning to assist the migrants, the asylum seekers here. There are lots of other organizations that have stepped up, but I just wanted to highlight them today. And I thank the Cardinal and the church for the work that they’re doing. And there are many other faith leaders, let’s be clear, who’ve come together. I think the mayor held a press conference with some of them. We’ve also talked to a number of others and people have stepped up to do the right thing to help out and especially in this holiday season, that’s heartwarming.

* Any announcements imminent?…

Not yet, but I promise you that the city will be announcing as those shelter sites are available. I think they’ve stood up one shelter site roughly every eight or nine days during this challenge, and during the mayor’s term. And so I’m sure that there will be others announced.

* More from Isabel…

* Crain’s | Oak Park helped Chicago house migrants. It can’t take any buses: Although no new buses have arrived in Oak Park since October, the village is currently housing roughly 180 asylum-seekers between its West Cook YMCA, the Carleton Hotel and local churches. Scaman said Oak Park is providing “wraparound services,” including daily meals and some legal support.

* Block Club | City Paying Well More Than Typical Rent For Migrant Shelter Buildings — And Keeping Details Secret: A picture has emerged through interviews and public records: As the new mayor and his team grew desperate to find housing for the migrants, the emergency offered lucrative opportunities to some city contractors and well-connected property owners, Block Club Chicago found. In the West Loop, Johnson aides ultimately approved deals to convert three former office buildings into migrant housing at a cost to the city of as much as $1.3 million a month, according to information provided by the city.

* ABC Buffalo | ‘Diversity is the future’: Working to recruit migrants to help restaurant industry staff shortage: “Diversity is the future. I mean we shouldn’t have waited this long to diversify the workplace,” says Kailey Gyorffy, vice president of WNY Chapter NYSRA. “Getting these people that have worked so hard in their countries and they’re completely overlooked by other major corporations in the area and we’d like to offer them an opportunity to show their skills and use their skills.”

* Seattle Times | A year into crisis, Tukwila church struggles as 500 asylum-seekers face winter: Local and state officials were first notified by the church of the situation in the spring, a few months into people arriving. The state said it has prepared for crowds as large as New York or Chicago, but that hasn’t happened yet, meaning a full emergency response isn’t warranted. Because the crowd that does exist is outside Seattle limits, Seattle-specific agencies say they can’t help. King County has said that it’s mainly Tukwila’s problem, while Tukwila says it can’t solve this problem alone.