Texas migrants dropped off at Union Station in Chicago’s city center were taken by bus to another suburb. This time the location they were then taken to the suburb of Elk Grove Village. This marks the 2nd busload of migrants that have now been relocated from Chicago.
Officials from Elk Grove Village said they only received less than 24 hours. The state officials told them on September 9, at 1:30 p.m., that the town would be receiving 90 migrants via a bus that day. After officials in Elk Grove Village asked the state for answers, the busload of migrants was pushed back by one day to September 10.
In a press release, Elk Grove Village officials said they had “no prior notice” that the migrants were coming. They also said they had “no direction from the state, county, or City of Chicago authorities” on handling this unexpected situation.
In a robocall to residents, Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson said he was “disappointed” with how the state and officials from the city of Chicago handled the matter.
Despite the fact that the Village is now well-informed about what is occurring, he could not express how disappointed he is with how this has been handled by the county, state, and the City of Chicago. There was no advance notice that the migrants would arrive in the Village, and there was no information about the arrival time of the bus, where the migrants would stay, or who was going to be responsible for providing food and medical care. According to Johnson, they only got their needed answers after making phone calls and asking tough questions.
After asking many questions, Johnson said he’s happy that the federal agencies whose job is to check on the migrants’ health and safety are doing their job.
Officials say the refugees will stay at a La Quinta Hotel in Elk Grove Village. Migrants have been taken by bus from Chicago to the city’s suburbs.
On September 7, 64 migrants were taken from Chicago to a Hampton Inn hotel in Burr Ridge, Illinois. Republican Mayor Gary Grasso said neither city nor state officials told him about this.
“I’m happy that the American dream is still alive for a lot of people,” just as it was for my grandparents when they immigrated to this country, Grasso said. “But I’m sad that no one from the city or state called me, my village administrator, or any of our elected officials to tell us what was going on.”
Grasso told Fox News that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker are using the migrants as “political pawns.”
According to Grasso, the hotel took in a few Afghan refugees about a year ago through faith-based or charitable organizations, but now the state thinks they can send migrants. This isn’t about the migrants, who are fine; the governor and mayor are just using them as political pawns,” Grasso said.
Pritzker’s press secretary, Jordan Abudayyeh, told WGN that it’s interesting that local officials are upset about busing migrants to the suburbs. The state is working with partners in the City of Chicago and Cook County, as well as advocacy groups, to welcome people seeking asylum in the U.S. and give them stability to begin their new lives in Illinois. The state has worked with the hotel being used in the suburbs before, and their staff has done great work welcoming refugees and asylum seekers in the past, so, interestingly, local officials are choosing this particular hotel.