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State/charitable migrant food money runs out January 1, but city won’t say what will happen during two weeks of no funding

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Illinois

* We talked about this Friday, but Tina Sfondeles and Michael Loria highlight an upcoming two-week funding gap that the city won’t talk about…

Citing further “delays” in the city’s procurement process, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration on Friday said it would chip in an additional $2 million to feed asylum-seekers in Chicago through the end of the year.

Another $2 million will be matched by the Chicago Food Depository, which has already been providing meals to migrants since June, in partnership with 15 minority-owned restaurants in Chicago. […]

The request for further funding came this week, and the state agreed to help until the end of the year with an understanding the city will assume the cost in January. […]

Mary May, a spokeswoman from Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications, said in a statement the deadline for an RFP for the food contract closed on Friday and was delayed because the city received more than 200 questions from applicants. May said the new contract is slated to begin Jan. 15.

It’s unclear who will be funding the food between Jan. 1 and Jan. 15, when the city said its contract would begin. The city did not comment on that gap.

* Meanwhile, according to the city, another 25 buses arrived last week. Isabel charted the arrivals dating back to the seven days ending October 6, when 53 buses arrived…

* The good news is the city and state have been able to move lots of folks out of police stations and airports. The numbers in the staging areas peaked on October 20th, at 3,684 people. As of last Friday, those numbers were down to just 1,032, with only 877 in police district headquarters and the rest at O’Hare…

* Coverage roundup from Isabel…

Block Club | Portage Park’s St. Bartholomew School Building Will House At Least 300 Migrants:

* NBC Chicago | Governor pauses construction at Brighton Park migrant site following environmental report: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has paused construction on a base camp for migrants in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood following the release of an environmental report last week. According to the governor’s office, the pause is intended so the governor can review the report and discuss further with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Those discussions are expected to take place Monday.

* CBS | Illinois pauses construction of Chicago migrant tent camp in Brighton Park: The state is funding construction of the tent encampment. Last week, Pritzker’s office announced $65 million in funding for the Brighton Park site and for a brick-and-mortar shelter for migrants at a shuttered CVS pharmacy in Little Village. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office confirmed work at the Brighton Park site is on hold while IEPA reviews the city’s environmental assessment of the site.

* Tribune | A plea to Biden from longtime undocumented immigrants in Chicago: ‘Please don’t forget about us, we need job permits too’: The work authorization, advocates say, would allow those immigrants to step out from the shadows and improve their lives exponentially. They would receive workplace protections and legally set wages that they may be too afraid to demand under the current circumstances. And they could visit their home countries without sacrificing the lives they have built in the United States. Many living in the country illegally go the rest of their lives without seeing family because they would be barred from reentering the U.S. if they left.

* WGN | Elk Grove passes ordinance to help migrants while keeping community safe: The first being migrants who want to stay at a hotel or motel will need to have a document that says they were examined by an infectious disease doctor who verifies they are free of contagious diseases. This applies to people who’ve been in the United States for less than 60 days. […] The second part of the ordinance prevents warehouse and vacant shopping center owners from converting their buildings into temporary housing.

* WTTW | State, Greater Chicago Food Depository to Spend Additional $4M on Meals for Migrants; City to Take Over Next Year: Illinois and the Greater Chicago Food Depository will each spend $2 million, on top of $10.5 million the state has spent thus far on a contract with the depository to provide meals to migrants. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration cites “procurement delays” by Chicago as the reason for the shortfall, and says that the city in January will assume the responsibility of making sure migrants are fed, according to a news release.

* Tribune | Volunteer networks step up to provide health needs to migrants at police stations: Migrants’ immunity is often weakened from their strenuous journeys walking to get here. In an average week, said Koruba, police make about 50 to 60 ambulance calls across all districts.

* Tribune | Volunteer networks step up to provide health needs to migrants at police stations: Mutual aid networks and free and charitable organizations have stepped up to provide health needs to migrants who are sleeping on the floor at police stations and waiting for space in one of the 26 brick-and-mortar shelters around the city. But it is not uncommon for migrants to turn — or, in some cases, return — to police stations looking for basic medical resources, as necessities in shelters can be sparse or nonexistent. It’s not dissimilar from what migrants faced in their countries of origin.

* Tribune | State, food bank step in to keep migrants fed during December amid city contract delay: The city in mid-October solicited bids for a new food vendor contract that was to begin Friday, but last week the Johnson administration pushed that start date back a month and a half to Jan. 15, according to city records. The delay raised questions about whether migrants would be fed throughout December. The new deadline for food vendors to submit proposals was noon Friday.

* Sen. Robert Peters | Chicago must remain a sanctuary city because ‘that is who we are’: Chicagoans do not subscribe to Trump’s “build the wall” politics. We rejected his xenophobia in 2016 and 2020, and we need to reject it now as we approach the 2024 presidential election and the Democratic National Convention that will be held in Chicago in August. The convention is a once-in-a-generation moment for the city to shine. Instead, some of our city’s leaders are flirting with embarrassing us on the world stage and causing deep fissures within the Democratic Party, which needs to be unified to prevent Trump from becoming president for a second time.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 12:13 pm

Comments

Hard to believe that the third largest city in the country with a $16 billion budget has been thrown into total disarray because 20,000 people were shipped there unexpectedly. It looks like with all of the commerce, philanthropic organizations, and resources within Chicago and the greater metro region, someone would be able to figure this out.

Comment by Notorious JMB Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 12:52 pm
SIGH. The mayor on day one should have rolled out a one year plan. At this point a 3 month or heck one month plan would be great.

Comment by DisappointedVoter Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 1:41 pm
Where are the feds I am not letting the city off the hook for poor planning and execution, but where is help with funding and coordination from the feds?

Comment by Montrose Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 2:21 pm
@montrose

I think that is exactly what drove the Governor of Texas to do this.

His method is reprehensible as a “xtian” but he made his point.

Comment by Jerry Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 2:56 pm
On the plus side, it is good to see so many reports of volunteers and local agencies and churches stepping up to help asylum seekers as best the can. While much more is needed, including an omnibus plan, beloved communities are often created and sustained at the grassroots level. Thank you people of Chicagoland.

Comment by H-W Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 3:11 pm