Mayor Brandon Johnson briefs Chicago City Council members on plan to house migrants in tent cities
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Outside the 10th District Police Station on the city's West Side, some migrants are living in pop-up tents.
In an exclusive television interview with ABC7, Mayor Brandon Johnson revealed part of his plan to move migrants from police stations into what he calls "base camps" made up of giant tents.
"We are moving with expediency because the weather is going to be shifting very soon, so before inclement weather sets in, we fully expect to have these base camps established," Johnson said.
On Friday, Johnson defended his plan to put up giant heated tents in parts of the city to house up to 1,000 migrants, which he said would provide a more dignified place to stay. He pointed to efforts to buy or repurpose multiple facilities before the end of the year to address the ongoing need to shelter new arrivals.
"We have had more buses show up in the last 15 weeks than all of last year combined; I don't think we should continue to look at this as a crisis. This is our reality," Johnson said.
The base camps would provide food, cots and health services and would be the first stop for incoming migrants. Each tent would house 500 to 1,000 people, Johnson's office said.
Johnson's plans drew mixed reviews. Critics said putting migrants in tents, even if they are heated, is not feasible in Chicago. But, others said it's much better that the current options.
On Friday afternoon, the mayor himself shared new details of the plan with select members of the city council, and it seems there are still more questions than answers.
"We've identified multiple locations around the city that can be suitable to treat the families and individuals who, by law, are seeking asylum constitutionally," Johnson said.
Johnson would not identify those locations, but some alderpeople have heard talk that the parking lot of a former grocery store at 115th and Halsted could be a location. And, the mayor asked for help from alderpersons to help find two to three locations in their wards where the tents could be erected.
Alderman Brian Hopkins, who represents the 2nd Ward, was among a group of alderpersons getting individually briefed on the plans on Monday afternoon.
"So, they're looking around the city. They say they need about two acres per tent. So, we're looking for suitable locations that can be on gravel. It could be on asphalt. It could be even be on grass. But, of course, it's only a marginal improvement from living in the lobby of a police station," Hopkins said. "This is an all-hands-on-deck request. We're going to have to scour the city and look for locations that this can be implemented."
The mayor's office confirmed that the type of giant, framed tents that are currently being used to house migrants in New York City are similar to what Chicago is looking to do to ease the migrant housing crisis here. But, the idea of tents cities in Chicago came under fire from Alderman Anthony Beale, who said there's no way will he allow one in his 9th Ward.
"We didn't have a clear plan, and it seems like we're trying to formulate a plan, but I don't think a tent city is an ideal plan that needs to be being pushed because of the climate that we have here in the city of Chicago," Beale said. "What are you going to do in the winter months?"
Another alderman called the mayor's plan creative.
"I want to make sure it works. I'm going to work with them to make that happen. If those tents are heated, if they have HVAC units, access to medical care and food, if they're respectable locations, I think we got to go that route," said Alderman Michael Rodriguez, who represents the 22nd Ward.
One migrant told ABC7 off camera he'd welcome a heated tent over what he has been dealing with at the 10th District Police Station.
"It's a marginal improvement from the lobby of a police station. It's not a permanent solution. It just gets us out of the current crisis," Hopkins added.
The plan to move new arrivals from police stations to tents is something some volunteers wished had happened sooner.
One of the coordinators of the volunteer Police Station Response Team wants to see an organized plan to feed the migrants and unhoused Chicagoans instead of leaning on volunteers.
"What we need to see is a concerted effort to feed people three times a day in accordance to the nutritional guideline, and right now, a lot of that work is being done by volunteers," said Lead Station Volunteer Brit Hodgdon.
Baltazar Enriquez with the Little Village Community Council has been working very closely with asylum-seekers to get them work and permanent housing. He said his group has shared several more practical locations for the city to house incoming migrants.
"To us, this is another FEMA concentration camp. These camps have been a failure at the border. No rules, no real type of security... The city of Chicago has brutal winters, very hard winds, and I know these tents will be destroyed within months," Enriquez said. "Where is all this money going? We are spending tax payers' money, and me, as a tax payer, I am very concerned that the mayor doesn't want to talk to the community. The mayor has this plan that doesn't want to give out the way they are going to run the camps. All they are telling us is that they are tents."
On Friday, a meeting of faith leaders and community organizers convened at Rainbow PUSH. They want to see the federal government step up to support Chicago.
"This is something the mayor of Chicago should handle alone? No, this is something that requires all hands on deck. Rainbow PUSH is declaring this is a state of emergency," said Rainbow PUSH President and CEO Rev. Dr. Frederick Haynes III.
So far, the city has spent tens of millions of dollars on asylum seekers. Johnson did not tell alderpersons on Friday how the tent cities would be paid for, but his team estimated the projected cost of the migrant crisis will reach $300 million by the end of this year.
Sources said the idea of using tents to house the migrants was proposed a year ago, but was immediately rejected by then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot. But, with shelters slow to come on line, the current administration has its back to the wall with limited options.
The mayor also responded to criticism about devoting resources to new arrivals, while an estimated 64,000 Chicagoans are without permanent housing.
"I know what it's like to have a relative, a family member who is suffering," Johnson said.
Johnson shared his personal understanding of watching a loved one struggle with addiction and homelessness.
"When you don't have the right resources or the right interventions, the type of hardship and turmoil that causes on families, I know that pain," he said.
He is pushing for a real estate transfer tax devoting more resources to the unhoused and mental health services.
And, he said he is pushing for sacrifices to be made by all levels of government.
"If we do not act in this moment, if we do not live out our values and our principles as a city, the type of chaos that will break out as a result of not having any action will cost the city much more," Johnson said.
