Illinois is providing temporary housing for immigrants arriving in the state at hotels, opening up space for nearly 200 asylum-seekers as several Chicago suburbs continue to turn immigrants away.
Thirty hotel rooms were made available Saturday night, and rooms for up to 200 people will be available on Sunday. The decision came at the request of Chicago officials, as the city is bearing the brunt of the influx of immigrants being bused to Democratic-led cities by Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX).
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The Illinois Department of Human Services is working with Chicago officials to identify hotel spaces, and the city will be providing transportation, the state said in a news release on Sunday via the Chicago Tribune. Following the hotel stay, immigrants will be moved to a former CVS in Little Village that is being renovated into a permanent shelter once construction is completed in January.
Since August 2022, more than 26,000 immigrants have been bused to Chicago, most of them legally. As most of them arrived without having plans for a home, thousands have taken refuge in O’Hare International Airport and police stations scattered throughout the city, as well as on the streets by the hundreds. As of Sunday morning, 14,554 immigrants are living across 27 shelters in the Windy City.
The funding for hotel housing for immigrants comes from the $160 million the state set aside in November to address the influx of immigrants. It combines with the already $478 million in state funding allocated to address the problem over fiscal 2023 and 2024. The money is used for resources for rental assistance, shelter, food, medical care, and other support services.
This move comes after several Chicago suburbs rejected busloads of immigrants from Texas, threatening to fine or impound the bus if drivers dropped off homeless immigrants. Suburbs such as Schaumburg, Illinois, and Elk Grove Village, Illinois, have passed ordinances preventing illegal immigrants from being housed in hotels.
Oak Park originally paid to house immigrants in hotels, approving $1 million in aid using funds from a state grant and federal COVID-19 recovery funds. However, the village is now evicting 150 immigrants living in the town’s hotel and YMCA.
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Mayor Brandon Johnson has spent much of his administration tackling the immigration crisis in Chicago. The city is suing bus companies and seeking the ability to impound buses and fine owners $3,000 if they don’t follow Chicago’s rules limiting the time and frequency of arrivals.
Johnson also plans to move more than 1,600 immigrants from police stations to permanent camps before winter, but plans for the shelters in several areas have been put on hold due to environmental concerns.
