State money to help migrant assistance in Chicago suburbs comes with both appreciation and wariness
Local officials usually welcome money from the state, but recent grants to Chicago suburbs to address an influx of migrants met with some backlash, highlighting how controversial the issue has become.
In Joliet, news that the local township would get nearly $9 million to handle incoming migrants prompted immediate opposition from city officials and some residents. Mayor Terry D’Arcy asked township officials to withdraw the grant application.
“If the township accepts this grant and individuals arrive in our city,” the mayor said, “it will be a tremendous strain, overtaxing our existing infrastructure, impacting our Joliet school system social services, public and private health resources, and public safety.”
State officials recently gave $11 million in grants to five suburban and downstate governments to help accommodate arriving migrants and $30 million for Chicago. Debate over the grants reflects mixed feelings over how to handle the issue.
Some 17,000 people have arrived by bus in Chicago over the past year, straining social services and prompting protests from some residents over spending tax dollars for food, shelter and other aid for newcomers. Suburbs have not faced any migration on that scale, but officials there say they have seen a marked increase in arrivals that needs to be addressed.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said that migrants won’t be sent anywhere unless local officials agree to have them come. But both Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have called for more help from the federal government, with the governor saying the current situation is “untenable.”
In response to such criticisms, President Joe Biden’s administration announced Thursday that, with increasing numbers of migrants coming across the Mexican border, it will resume deporting migrants from Venezuela. The administration recently increased protected status for Venezuelans who arrived to the U.S. before July 31.
In Joliet Township, Supervisor Angel Contreras, who applied for the immigration aid money, said he understood people’s concerns. There are no plans, he said, for mass migration, new shelters or housing.
“This isn’t invitation money, it’s stabilization money, so our social service agencies don’t get overloaded,” he said. “We need to do what we can for now and hopefully the federal government steps up.”
As proposed, Contreras said, the Joliet Township funding would go to the Spanish Community Center, which reported serving 2,200 people since August of last year, and the Will Grundy Medical Clinic. But money could also flow to other agencies in the region, with services to be provided first and reimbursed by the state afterward.
In Lake County, social service agencies reported serving nearly 2,000 asylum-seekers in the last year. State grants of $1 million were to go to three local immigrant aid agencies.
“They’re already here, they are coming to the suburbs,” Mano a Mano Executive Director Dulce Ortiz said. “That’s why we’re so grateful for this funding, because they’re already here and we are meeting their needs.”
Few migrants have come to stay in Oak Park, but a church there has opened its doors to give them a hot shower, new clothes and blankets, and a kitchen to make their own food.
Thirty to 40 migrants come twice a week from a crowded police station nearby in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood to St. Catherine-St. Lucy-St. Giles parish for a break from sleeping on the floor or in tents on the sidewalk.
A hearty breakfast is served and the migrants are supplied with soap, towels, shampoo, combs, razors and deodorant. Donated clothes and shoes are on display for the migrants to select. Children get donated toys and participate in card games and art projects. Social workers from Family Focus register the migrants for benefits.
The Police Station Response Team, an interfaith group that includes Christian and Jewish volunteers, also provides a weekly meal and other services at the police station. The village was awarded $150,000 to help coordinate such efforts.
But not everybody in the village is happy with the group’s efforts. That’s why when the group recently opened a building to store donations, it didn’t make its address public.
“It’s the work of the Holy Spirit,” volunteer Celine Woznica said. “They cook, they’re laughing. They say, ‘Oh no, in my area we do it this way.’ They’re able to cook their traditional foods and be proactive, rather than waiting for (handouts). It’s the most wonderful life-giving thing.”
The Rev. Carl Morello, pastor of the merged St. Catherine-St. Lucy-St. Giles parish, acknowledged there are many long-term issues to be resolved, and the community reaction is mixed, but he said this is an emergency response.
“There are those who’ve expressed the concern that we’re helping these people and they’re not paying taxes, what are they giving back?” he said. “My answer is always, this is a moral issue, in terms of caring for those in need. We have a responsibility to care for hungry and homeless people. We’re not looking at all the political aspects. We’re living the Gospel message.”
In Elgin, which was awarded $1.27 million, Mayor David Kaptain said some residents have raised similar concerns.
For about a year, he said, there has been a steady “trickle” of migrants from Venezuela and elsewhere who are helped by local social service agencies.
“It got to the point where it’s a financial burden,” he said. “They’re running short of food, they need more money. That’s why the grant was applied for.”
“I’ve been getting calls from people concerned you’re going to bring busloads of immigrants here,” he said. “That’s not what’s happening here.”
He compared the situation to that during COVID-19, when people lost their jobs and the city gave money to local food pantries that were running out of food.
Dianha Ortega-Ehreth, executive director of the Centro de Informacion in Elgin, said her group has been helping a rising number of immigrants.
The number of clients who entered the U.S. in the past year quadrupled to almost 300 in the past fiscal year, she said.
“We’re seeing a lot of new arrivals,” Ortega-Ehreth said. “The goal is to get everybody into permanent housing and make them self-sustainable. But that takes time. Our mission is to help the immigrant community fully integrate into the community.”
