Chicago’s City Council has just approved $51 million in aid to fund staffing, food and other resources for incoming illegal migrants.
The vote passed after a fierce debate on Wednesday with 34 voting yes and 13 voting no.
The new funding is in addition to the Illinois state budget that was passed last week and included $42.5 million targeted for illegals for shelter, legal representation and translation services.
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TGP reports: While the Council ultimately approved the expenditure, it was not without controversy. Chicagoans are increasingly outraged by how the city is handling the crisis brought on by Joe Biden’s broken border policy.
Ald. David Moore of the 17th Ward voted to reject the funding saying, “If there’s enough to go around, then let’s pass an ordinance where we see the ‘enough.” Moore argued for spending money on Chicago residents like those in his district which is an underserved, majority-Black ward.
The city has warned it’s out of money and space to aid the roughly 10,000 asylum-seekers who have arrived in the city since last August. Over 4,400 are currently living in 11 temporary city-run shelters and respite centers that include former hotels and park field houses, with 610 awaiting housing in police station lobbies, according to a city spokesman.
The funding comes from a 2021 budget surplus that was set aside for “unanticipated emergencies,” according to the city’s budget office. But it’s only a stopgap. City officials previously warned the $51 million will only be enough to last through the end of June, and the city has received just a small fraction of the tens of millions in state and federal funding it’s requested.
“We’re going to continue to have these discussions, because these buses ain’t stopping,” Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th Ward, said, referring to the buses of asylum-seekers Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has sent to the city.
