‘Everyone Is in Danger’: Chicagoans Decry ‘Chaos and Anarchy’ at Migrant Shelter Near Democratic Convention Site

Ahead of the Democratic National Convention at Chicago, residents of a migrant shelter just blocks from the convention hall are reportedly wreaking havoc on the area. Now, Chicago residents and businesses are calling on the city to move the shelter by the end of September, saying it’s leading to hundreds of police calls, open drug use, crime, and dangerous conditions.The migrant shelter, at 1640 West Walnut Street, is mere blocks away from where the Democratic National Convention will be held next week, at the United Center arena. People outside a migrant shelter, March 13, 2024, at Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. AP/Erin Hooley“Everyone on Walnut St. is in DANGER,” the executive director of the Fulton Market Association, Roger Romanelli, tells the Sun in an email.Following a news conference on the issue Tuesday, “a group of angry people — maybe migrants, maybe not — interrupted, yelled at, and tried to physically intimidate our group,” he adds. “This shows the lawlessness and public disrespect on the street.”Mr. Romanelli said a Freedom of Information Act request showed that there had been 400 calls to 911 between January and May on the block by the shelter, the Chicago Tribune reported. Denouncing the “chaos and anarchy” stemming from the shelter, Mr. Romanelli called for law and order to be returned to the area. “We were given promises that there would be law and order and that people would live and work safely on Walnut Street,” he said, the Tribune noted. “Those promises have not been kept.”Chicago has been bracing for weeks for a potential surge in migrant arrivals, following a promise by Governor Abbott of Texas at the Republican National Convention that the northbound buses of migrants sent from his state aren’t stopping. “We have continued busing migrants to sanctuary cities across the entire country, and those buses will continue to roll until we finally secure our border,” he said. Signs are posted at the entrance of a migrant shelter at the West Loop neighborhood on January 30, 2024, at Chicago. Scott Olson/Getty ImagesMr. Abbott’s office did not respond to an inquiry from the Sun asking if the Texas governor is planning to send migrants to the DNC. As of August 9, Texas had bused more than 119,000 migrants to sanctuary cities, including more than 36,900 to Chicago, more than 45,900 to New York City, and more than 19,200 to Denver, according to the governor’s office. Last year, Chicago’s mayor, Lori Lightfoot, issued an emergency declaration about the migrant surge. Chicago officials have recently said they have prepared for “any sudden increase” in migrant arrivals around the DNC.“Working in partnership with Cook County and the State of Illinois, the City of Chicago has developed a strategic plan to prepare for any sudden increases in new arrivals in the lead-up to the Democratic National Convention,” a city representative said, FOX32 Chicago reported. “As part of that strategic plan, the City is maintaining sufficient bed capacity in our existing temporary shelters and preparing sites in the event that new temporary emergency shelters need to be activated on short notice.” The city did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Sun about its DNC preparations. Family members, recent migrants from Venezuela, leave a shelter at the West Loop neighborhood on January 30, 2024, at Chicago. Scott Olson/Getty ImagesThe migrant shelter is also near the area where tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters are expected to march during the DNC. The activists and the city have been engaged in a First Amendment dispute over the exact protest routes, with protesters saying that the city’s denial of certain routes and the city’s proposed alternatives infringe on their rights to political expression. Democratic Party leaders are reportedly deeply concerned that disruptive anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters could mar the joyous coronation they have planned for Vice President Harris.A federal judge this week denied the protesters’ request to extend the route, holding that the “need to maintain an accessible route to and from the United Center in case of emergency constitutes a separate significant governmental interest.” “Ultimately, Plaintiffs’ challenges to the Alternative Parade Route boil down to a complaint that Defendants have not offered the exact route Plaintiffs desire—despite their concession that the Alternative Parade Route allows them to speak near their intended audience,” the ruling notes. “This falls well short of a First Amendment violation.”

‘Everyone Is in Danger’: Chicagoans Decry ‘Chaos and Anarchy’ at Migrant Shelter Near Democratic Convention Site

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