Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) recently announced the opening of two more migrant shelters in Chicago, blindsiding local elected officials who only learned about the openings in their areas upon the governor’s announcement.
Last week, Pritzker’s office hailed the creation of the pair of new shelters paid for by the Illinois taxpayers and made possible by deals with the “nonprofit sector.”
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“I’m thankful to our partners and the contributions across City, State, County, and nonprofit sectors. These additional shelters provide meaningful support to families seeking stability as they take their next steps toward independence,” Dulce Quintero, Illinois Department of Human Services Secretary Designate, said in a press release.
“In Illinois, we’re implementing our comprehensive data-driven plan to improve our response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis and amplify the effectiveness of State, County, and City investments,” the governor added.
But state Rep. Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar and state Sen. Mike Porfirio, both Democrats, were surprised by the announcement and said they were unaware that any new shelter was being opened in their jurisdiction until the announcement was made.
Both also raised serious concerns over public safety, according to the Chicago Tribune.
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Chicago PoliceThe lawmakers said that they were aware that the state was looking for facilities to serve as shelters, but suggested that full disclosure, public meetings, and other measures should be taken before any shelters were opened. Pritzker, though, ignored those suggestions and announced that President Joe Biden’s migrants would begin taking residence in the shelters immediately.
Local residents near the shelters are similarly unhappy with the announcement.
Gage Park resident Cassi Almeida is furious that another shelter is being opened in her area. She fought to shut down the migrant shelter that had been established in a local park district fieldhouse, declaring it a public safety issue.
“They smoked weed 24/7, they peed on the trees in the park, had sex in the park in front of kids. It was chaotic. I think it’s a huge mistake for Pritzker to open more shelters,” she said, according to Just the News. “Some of those people don’t have any respect for the neighborhoods they are staying in.”
“I had one of them at about 4 in the afternoon pull his pants down and pee right in front of my house,” Almeida added. “I’m not against immigrants. I am from Brazil, but when they act with this disrespect it is totally out of the question. To have the government and the mayor to applaud and accept this disruption here in Chicago? It’s terrible and shameful, and America is not the same thanks to them.”
Almeida accused Democrats like Pritzker of turning the United States into a “third world country.”
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“You want to see a third world country? Welcome to the United States of America,” she said. “This is what you guys are getting now [with these migrant shelters.] All the things people think about when they hear about third world countries, people begging and kids selling food in the streets. Come to Chicago and see for yourself.”
State Rep. Adam Neimerg (R) blasted Pritzker for putting citizens and legal immigrants last in his effort to make life easier for newly arrived migrants.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out exactly what the Dems are doing. If this was about compassion and humanity they wouldn’t be doing this. We’re putting veterans, homeless, and folks in the inner cities last. People who are struggling to pay for groceries. This is a Democrat-voter registration drive,” Neimerg said.
Others noted that the new shelters also have a strategic function because both of them are at some of the farthest points away from the facility where the Democrat National Convention (DNC) will be held in August and if more migrants arrive, they will quickly be shunted far away from the Windy City’s downtown areas where the DNC will hold its events.
Indeed, at least one migrant shelter closer to downtown was closed this month even as the ones farther south were being prepped for operation.
City officials closed the shelter at Richard J. Daley College which had been in operation for a year. The college campus in only a few miles south of the downtown area where the DNC is set to meet.
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