Chicago City Wire

Chicago’s Committee on Budget and Government Operations has approved $51 million in additional funding to address the city's current migrant humanitarian crisis.

At the Tuesday meeting, Committee on Budget and Government Operations members voted to approve an additional $51 million in funding for the continuing issue of incoming migrants to the city. 

“The city is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, and we are definitely in the surge of our new arrivals mission,” committee member Susie Park said with the request for the additional funds. This funding has been requested because funding from FEMA, state and federal sources will not be enough to cover the $112 million in estimated costs through the end of June.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot held a press conference on Tuesday to declare a state of emergency in response to the humanitarian crisis, according to WTTW News. Lightfoot released a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott asking him to stop busing migrants to Chicago, as he has been doing for almost a year. In her letter, Lightfoot said that the city “has reached a breaking point” and is unable to safely and humanely care for the surge of incoming migrants. Since her letter, the city has received 48 more migrants.

"That is why today I have issued a declaration of emergency, to bolster our response to the arrival of the migrants," Lightfoot said. The mayor's emergency declaration will empower city officials to be able to spend already appropriated funds to address the migrant crisis without first seeking City Council approval. 

“Generally the funding will be used for shelter costs, staffing, non-congregate rentals, meals, facility operations, legal services, and out-migration and transportation,” Park said at the meeting. The bulk of city costs will go towards staffing makeshift shelters to house the growing migrant population. 

David Moore, Nick Sposato and Anthony Napolitano were the only committee members to vote against the appropriation of funds. Sposato asked what the city was doing to care for their homeless veterans and elderly, saying, “This is a national problem and [in my opinion] the federal government isn’t doing anything.” Moore and Napolitano made sure to clarify to the committee that they were “no votes.”

The additional funding will get the city through June with current cost projections and only takes into account migrants that are already in the city. With an influx of new migrants expected, and June quickly approaching, the city is planning to continue requesting funds from both state and federal sources to meet the needs of the well over 8,000 migrants currently residing in the city, sleeping in shelters, makeshift shelters at parks or schools, in city hotels and even on the floors of police stations.