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How’s that ‘abundance’ talk working out?

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* From Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s transition report last June…

Goal #1: Strengthen and invest in Chicago’s infrastructure to be inclusive of migrant and refugee communities to make Chicago a true Welcoming City.

VISION:
Chicago leads the nation in ensuring that all immigrants regardless of race, color, language, gender, status, or disability feel safe, invested in, and cared for. Through deep collaboration, alignment, and relationship building across communities, the city, and other layers of government, Chicagoans are able to live in abundance by having all their needs met regardless of their language, race, color, gender, or immigration status.

The word “abundance” was tossed around a lot before the election.

* December 14th…

About 300 migrants who have been waiting for shelter are expected to move into the former convent and one of the former school buildings on the St. Bartholomew campus at Addison Street and Lavergne Avenue. […]

“St. Bartholomew’s was the first that we landed on primarily because it was the quickest,” [Eric Wollan, the chief capital assets officer in the archdiocese’s real estate department] said. “Our hope is that we’ll be in a position to offer more sites.”

* Local Ald. Ruth Cruz put in the work to help make it all happen…

Cruz said that she talked with 16th District commander Heather Daniel and that the commander said the district already had experience dealing with migrant housing at Wright. She said the commander told her that safety for the neighborhood and migrants should not to be a problem.

Cruz said that she has also inquired out about medical and other resources from the county for the migrants and talked to the Chicago Public Schools, which she said expressed confidence migrant children could be brought into area schools without negatively impacting resources for existing students.

Cruz plans to distribute fliers explaining the housing plan to area homes and hold an informational session for residents.

And then Mayor Brandon Johnson pulled the rug out from under the plan (and his own transition report) when he confirmed this month that the city will not stand up any more shelters.

* The mayor’s decision to kill a shelter which was literally days away from opening and his decision not to open any new shelters has had some consequences, of course. Just one example…

Residents who live near a makeshift shelter for migrants in Edgewater are pushing back against the city about asylum-seekers being housed in their neighborhood for six months. […]

Pat Sharkey, a convener of the Coalition of Edgewater Block Clubs and Residents’ Associations, helped author the report for the city and said she plans to send it to a handful of officials Wednesday morning. Sharkey said the city closed 54 classes and programs at the armory when it decided to house migrants. 18 were relocated to other parks.

But Sharkey said many residents can’t or don’t want to go elsewhere in the city for their park programming — sports such as basketball, floor hockey and gymnastics. She said it has significantly affected families in her community. The study shows that enrollment in programs has decreased by 73%.

“There were 1,200 people using the armory in fall of 2022 and there are no classes being held there now,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking.”

And just wait until April, when the city will exhaust its appropriations authority because the mayor deliberately underfunded migrant-related spending.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 1:39 pm

Comments

I shall not attribute this to malevolence, as it can easily be explained by incompetence.

Comment by Roadrager Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 1:48 pm
==the mayor deliberately underfunded migrant-related spending. ==

City council passed the budget on a 41-8 vote.

Comment by supplied_demand Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 1:59 pm
I simply don’t understand the mayors endgame here. The administration seems to be taking deliberate action to undercut local and city level solutions. What is the goal really? Let the situation get so bad that the state gov assumes ownership of the issue? Ignore it and hope Chicagoans lose interest + media stops covering it? I really just don’t understand the decisions being made (or lack thereof).

Comment by Charles Edward Cheese Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 1:59 pm
===City council passed the budget on a 41-8 vote===

The more unbalanced a budget is, the easier it is to pass.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 2:00 pm
“The more unbalanced a budget is, the easier it is to pass”

That is only true in political environments where you have a one-party supermajority.

Comment by Donnie Elgin Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 2:04 pm
===That is only true in political environments where you have a one-party supermajority. ===

LOLOL

Now do Congress.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 2:07 pm
The madness continues

Comment by Frida’s boss Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 2:22 pm
Mississippi with snow. That is what this administration is turning Chicago into.

Comment by NotRich Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 2:28 pm
“I simply don’t understand the mayors endgame here.”

One might hypothesize that all of the DSA/Progressive platform talking points about sharing a humane social order, equitable distribution of resources and radical equality are merely a cynical facade; and that the singular achievement Mayor Johnson actually desires during his time in office is a more rapid transfer of wealth from Chicago taxpayers to the mayor’s allies in the CTU.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 2:32 pm
sorry, 2:32PM was me

Comment by sulla Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 2:32 pm
I’m with C E Cheese @1:59 — What in the world is the Mayor trying to achieve? To an outsider, there is absolutely no coherent policy emerging from his administration, unless, of course, he’s trying to weaponize incoherence itself in an effort to force state or federal intervention. But if that’s the case, then perhaps he should abandon his passive aggressiveness toward the state, particularly, and also the feds. He’s acting as if he’s entitled to be rescued from his blunders; we hear precious little concern about the people suffering from them.

The uncertainty surrounding the Mayor’s intentions, and not just in immigrant crisis, must bewilder anyone who must interact with the city or try to plan in anticipation of city policy. Two successive failed administrations could easily put Chicago in a hole out of which it will be very difficult to climb.

Comment by Flapdoodle Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 2:36 pm
= I really just don’t understand the decisions being made (or lack thereof). =

A great philosopher once wrote, “if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”

Comment by cover Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 2:37 pm
== I simply don’t understand the mayors endgame here. ==

I think he’s building a case to shift all responsibility (and therefore blame) to the state. First he underfunds, then he says the city doesn’t need to stand-up temporary shelters because the state is doing case work that will result in housing placement for the migrants. A few months from now when it all collapses — coincidentally when the legislature is preparing a budget — he’ll say the city is out of money and the state took over housing, so it’s the state’s problem. JB sees this developing, which is why he is forcibly pushing back against the city’s decommissioning of shelters.

Comment by TNR Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 2:39 pm
I remember when they shut out the community and “temporarily” moved people in. GL getting that space back residents.

Comment by armory lies Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 3:00 pm
===A great philosopher once wrote,===

Thanks for the Rush reference. Well played.

Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 3:07 pm
- I simply don’t understand the mayors endgame here.-

Lay the traps to make sure there’s a proper “fall guy.” We’re not dealing with genius political strategists here, and I would argue there’s not much care for the City as whole, only political platitudes. Survival and passing all the “progressive” goals possible before 4-6 more Alders and the general public completely sour on him is the goal.

Comment by LastModDemStanding Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 3:13 pm
Johnson has been pretty clearly anti-immigrant since he went on Mase Jackson’s show. This is just part of a pattern.

Comment by SammyG Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 5:27 pm
What’s the next level after going from bad to worse? That’s where this is heading.

Comment by Shytown Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 5:40 pm
The Mayor doesn’t have an endgame. He doesn’t have a plan. My fiancée questioned this the other evening: “Why don’t we ever see the Mayor of our city on TV? Like, he’s NEVER publicly seen. All of these issues with the migrant crisis, and the only time he’s appearing is to discuss one of his assistants shoving (or not shoving) a reporter in Washington. Isn’t he the person who is supposed to be leading our city?” Again, the Fifth Floor has no plan - except maybe, just maybe, for when they have to negotiate the next contract with the CTU.

Comment by Just a guy Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 6:03 pm
It’s been clear since the Mayor tried to put the migrants in a toxic waste dump that his concern for human rights is thinner than the layer of gravel he sprinkled over the benzene pit.

He’s very lucky the State waived that dirty project off. The wrongful death suits would have dwarfed what we’re paying in police settlements.

Comment by northsider (the original) Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 6:07 pm