*** UPDATED x1 *** State’s November plan to reduce ‘bottlenecks’ in migrant shelter/resettlement appears to be making real progress
Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * November 16, 2023 press release…
That same day, Chicago reported that it was sheltering 12,174 asylum-seekers and another 2,197 were awaiting placement, for a total of 14,371. The city also reported 7,402 people had so far been “resettled,” while 2,694 had been “reunited with sponsors.” The city dashboard data goes back to October 28, but resettlement wasn’t even being tracked at that time. So, what’s happened to the numbers since then? * On December 27th, Chicago was sheltering 14,450 asylum-seekers and had another 284 awaiting placement, for a total of 14,734. The waiting list had fallen by 87 percent since November 16. The city also reported that day that 9,803 people had so far been resettled, while 3,371 had been reunited with sponsors. That represented a 30 percent increase over the November 16 numbers. * On January 5th, Chicago was sheltering 14,703 asylum-seekers and had another 408 awaiting placement, for a total of 15,111. By that date, 10,708 people had been resettled and 3,352 were reunited with sponsors. * Today, the city reports its shelters contained 12,478 people with 16 awaiting placement, for a total of 12,494. More importantly, perhaps, is that a total of 12,478 people have been resettled and 4,659 have been reunited with sponsors. That’s a 70 percent increase since November 16. They still have a ways to go, but the needles all appear to be moving in the right direction - until Texas decides to fully open up the human cargo spigots again. The November funding announcement also included “$65 million to help the City of Chicago launch a winterized soft shelter site providing temporary housing for up to 2,000 people at any given time for six months.” We may see that return come spring. *** UPDATE *** Sun-Times…
* Meanwhile…
* More…
* ABC 7 | Mayor Johnson backs out of commitment to $250M joint city, county, state migrant care package: “No one in the state of Illinois this country is questioning there. Brandon Johnson is committed to this mission,” Johnson said. But now, some are. “I really want to believe that there is nobody more committed to this mission than Mayor Brandon Johnson. But of course, the money is really where that rubber hits the road,” [migrant care volunteer Annie Gomberg] said. * Judith Crown at Crain’s | Chicago’s migrant crisis raises questions of equity: The migrant crisis has brought to light inequality in the way immigrants are treated. Members of the city’s undocumented Latino community like Garcia are angry when they see newly arrived immigrants from Venezuela able to obtain work permits, which gives them access to better-paying jobs. Other communities are infuriated, too, pointing out that public funding to shelter and feed migrants is money that might otherwise be used to further address the city’s daunting social problems, such as homelessness, mental illness and poverty. How is it that new arrivals are assigned to city shelters while there are tent camps in Humboldt Park and Columbus Park and along the Eisenhower Expressway? * Judith Crown at Crain’s | Migrant crisis stirs tension in Oak Park, but village mounts a supportive response: At its Jan. 23 meeting, Oak Park trustees authorized staff to pursue a grant of $1.9 million through the Illinois Department of Human Services and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus. The village received notice the following week that grant was approved. The funding will be used to provide aid to asylum-seekers through June 30. That will enable the village to continue helping migrants in a different shelter because asylum-seekers staying at the Carleton and West Cook YMCA must leave by the end of February. * MSNBC | A Chicago professor and her students are helping migrants seeking asylum: DePaul professor Kathleen Arnold is leading a group of students in helping case workers and lawyers representing migrants with asylum applications. Together, they complete what are called “country condition reports,” which help lawyers prove that there is widespread persecution in the countries migrants are fleeing.
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In huge blow to Bailey, Trump endorses Mike Bost (Updated)
Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * Click the pic for a link to the actual post… ![]() Bailey hasn’t raised much money, and has put almost all of his campaign eggs into the Trump endorsement basket. Oops. …Adding… Brenden Moore…
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White Sox make their pitch (Updated x2)
Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Meanwhile…
* NBC 5…
…Adding… NBC Sports Chicago…
…Adding… Speaker Welch…
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Live coverage
Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * You can click here or here to follow breaking news. It’s the best we can do unless or until Twitter gets its act together.
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