‘You have to have a limit, you have to say no’: Chicago residents speak out against migrants
As migrant families move into a new shelter in West Town, the fight over a Brighton Park encampment carries on.
While the site is located in Ald. Julia Ramirez’s 12th Ward, the meeting was held by Ald. Ray Lopez (15th Ward), who represents a portion of the neighborhood and says he feels residents were shut out during a meeting on the topic last month.Â
Lopez said he felt it was important to provide residents with a platform to voice their opinions, and announced that all of their comments would be shared directly with the Office of Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Through meetings, protests and legal action, residents – who feel they’ve been kept in the dark – have exhausted every effort to kibosh a migrant encampment at 38th Street and California Avenue.
“Ok, you want to spend that kind of money, fine, where’d that $300 million go this year?” asked one community member.
“We’ll have a much better understanding of how we move forward,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson on Tuesday afternoon.
The results of the city’s environmental assessments have not been released.
“Guess what buddy, we’re your obligation!” said Ricardo Palacios, a community member.
Others expressed concern with winter fast approaching and asked their neighbors to think about new arrivals and imagine life in their shoes.
“These children are going to grow up, they’re going to be youth, they’re going to be adults, so we want to be able to support them the best way that we can,” said community member Anita.
Lopez said he invited the mayor’s office to Tuesday’s meeting but they declined, telling him it is a 12th Ward issue, and they’ll deal directly with the 12th Ward.
