Last week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker was asked how the state plans to keep funding available for new arrivals. Pritzker said while the state budget is balanced, the state does not have any extra funds and the government has been forced to divert taxpayer funds from other programs.
Instead of using taxpayer money to fund immigration, Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle should put the question of Illinois’ sanctuary status on the ballot in the 2024 election.
Pritzker has said that the state has diverted money from our rental assistance program, which wasn’t originally intended to be for asylum-seekers. The governor’s spokesperson says budget items “like rental assistance, support for community-based organizations doing case work and HOME IL lines are increasingly funding services for the asylum seeker response.”
The HOME IL program is designed to reduce homelessness. The state has spent more than $328 million to support asylum-seekers. Johnson’s 2024 budget sets aside $150 million to care for migrants’ housing and food while citizens, his constituents, struggle to clean out their basements from flooding; pay for the high price of food, utilities and housing; and live in unsafe communities.
The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless’ 2023 report on homelessness estimates 68,440 people are experiencing homelessness in Chicago. The report estimates 82% of those experiencing homelessness are people of color. Additionally, the Chicago Housing Authority’s fiscal year 2023 report notes that more than 200,000 families are on the waitlist for affordable housing. A recent report by WBEZ-FM 91.5 found that Cook County evictions are rapidly increasing. Last year, landlords submitted about 29,000 eviction filings mainly due to a housing affordability crisis. And yet our elected leaders continue to divert resources from citizens.
Democracy requires that citizens’ voices be heard on this important issue. With hundreds of millions of dollars being diverted, we have a right to be heard. With parks and other resources being used to house migrants, community members should be heard. I am not anti-immigration; instead, I am pro-legal immigration. There is a process to enter into any country. To date, more than 18,000 migrants have come to Chicago since August 2022, with no end in sight.
Our elected leaders would do well to hear the voices of West Side residents in opposition to Amundsen Park being turned over to house 200 migrants. Residents in the community protested, and city officials put the plan on hold. On the South Side, when state Sen. Willie Preston held a town hall meeting and asked if the citizens wanted a ballot referendum on whether Chicago should remain a sanctuary city, a majority of the hands went up.
More Top Picks Best Refractometers For Cooking And Brewing
The question to voters at the state level should read like this: As citizens of Illinois, shall we continue to be a “sanctuary” state for immigrants lacking permanent legal status? Yes or No.
In Chicago, two aldermen, Anthony Beale and Anthony Napolitano, are fighting to get the question regarding sanctuary status in Chicago on the ballot for next year’s election. The taxpayers of Illinois, Chicago and Cook County should determine whether we remain a sanctuary for immigrants, not a few politicians.
WMAQ-Ch. 5 recently reported that Kansas-based company Favorite Healthcare Staffing billed the city of Chicago more than $7.2 million to staff migrant shelters during a four-week period this spring. Despite, the city reducing hourly rates being charged by Favorite Healthcare, one nurse billed $16,536 for seven days of work in April. The company billed the city of Chicago $64,000 for one nurse over a four-week period.
The state and city have failed to be transparent about contracts and funding for this crisis. As taxpayers, we deserve to know what funds are being diverted to take care of migrants. Also, we deserve to know that competent people are negotiating contracts on our behalf.
Our leaders’ stance on sanctuary status invites further illegal immigration. This position without resources to care for migrants is inhumane. As the weather turns colder it is not humane to put people in tents. It is inhumane to allow thousands of migrants to sleep on floors at police stations and O’Hare International Airport.
I recommend the following commonsense solutions:
1. Pritzker, Preckwinkle and Johnson should add the question of sanctuary status to the 2024 ballot.
2. All members of the Chicago City Council and state legislature should demand the leaders add the question regarding sanctuary status to the 2024 ballot.
3. Pritzker, Preckwinkle and Johnson should provide greater transparency regarding public funds being used to care for migrants.
It is common sense to prioritize and listen to the citizens who voted you in office. Illinois can be a “welcoming state” and not be a harbor for illegal immigration. It is a false choice to suggest states that enforce our federal immigration laws are not welcoming or compassionate. It is our money, and we deserve to have a voice in how it is spent. I have been taught that charity begins at home.
I write this commentary to make those who are comfortable with citizens not having a voice in the state’s sanctuary status uncomfortable.
Willie Wilson is a Chicago business owner and a former 2023 mayoral candidate.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].