Chicago Isn’t ‘Taking Caring of Its Own,’ Democratic Alderman Warns, as Mayor Pushes For $70 Million in Migrant Spending

As Chicago’s mayor, Brandon Johnson, seeks $70 million in funding for migrants, one Democratic alderman is warning that the city isn’t “taking care of our own.” After the city’s budget committee voted on Monday to approve the additional funding — sending it to the full City Council for a vote on Wednesday — an alderman, Chris Taliaferro, expressed concerns over diverting millions in funding for migrants when Chicago residents are in need. “We have all but forgotten the residents on the West Side and South Side,” he said in the Monday committee meeting, per ABC 7 News. For months, Chicago has been struggling to cope with a full-blown migrant crisis, including a measles outbreak, lawsuits, and calls for the city to rescind its sanctuary city status. City leadership has faced protests from Black communities and voters who say the city is failing them and diverting needed resources to migrants instead. It’s not the only sanctuary city facing a crisis — as the Sun reported, Denver is proposing enormous public safety budget cuts to free up resources to house and feed migrants. In Chicago, the city has already budgeted $150 million towards migrants, but the mayor, who has said it’s not enough, is seeking to pull the additional $70 million from reserve funds. The mayor’s office cast blame for the costs on Texas’ governor, Greg Abbott.“This funding request is based on a rigorous analysis of arrival patterns over the past two years, ensuring that the City will be prepared should there be any sudden increases in new arrivals sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott,” Mr. Johnson’s office said in a statement, adding that Mr. Abbott has bused hundreds of thousands of migrants across the country. “The City of Chicago has received the third-most asylum seekers of all major cities in the country, behind New York City and Denver, with nearly 39,000 new arrivals arriving in the City.” The city said the extra funding would be used to invest in shelters and in the city’s capacity to handle future “migration patterns.” The additional funding is sparking concerns about overspending.“When we don’t have money for after school programs. We don’t have money to help our kids get off the street. But yet, we would just blow money left and right. That’s a fundamental problem,” another alderman, Anthony Beale, said.

Chicago Isn’t ‘Taking Caring of Its Own,’ Democratic Alderman Warns, as Mayor Pushes For $70 Million in Migrant Spending

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