How the City of Chicago evaluates possible space for migrant shelters
CHICAGO (CBS) - Five more buses full of migrants made their way into Chicago Thursday – with the question of where the new arrivals will stay remaining open.
The city said they have already received 295 buses of asylum seekers total since August of last year – with 2,317 people still waiting to be placed at a shelter.
As CBS 2's Sabrina Franza reported, one new shelter is expected to be set up at the site of an abandoned warehouse at Cermak Road and Halsted Street in Pilsen.
Meanwhile, we are also learning more about the process the city takes to come up with these shelter locations - new information we've obtained through a freedom of information request.
A total of 9,309 migrants are already in shelters, while those 2,317 waiting for placement are now in police stations or at O'Hare or Midway international airports.
Housing is a top priority as the buses just keep coming.
The city's current shelters - spread out across the North, South, and West sides - are as follows, with total numbers as of 8 a.m. Thursday.
American Islamic College (AIC) – 640 W. Irving Park Rd.
- 987 family members
Brands Park – 3259 N. Elston Ave.
- 143 family members
Broadway Armory – 5917 N. Broadway
- 350 family members
Daley College – 7500 S. Pulaski Rd.
- 251 family members
Gage Park – 2411 W. 55th St.
· 390 single males and females
Inn of Chicago - 162 E. Ohio St.
· 1,526 family members
Lakeshore Hotel – 4900B S. DuSable Lake Shore Dr.
- 605 family members
Leone Boathouse – 1222 W. Touhy Ave.
- 96 family members
MWRD (former U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Center) – 3034 W. Foster Ave.
- 536 family members
Near South Health Center – 3525 S. Michigan Ave.
- 156 single males
New Life Community Church – 2958 N. Damen Ave.
- 51 family members
North Park Village – 5801 N. Pulaski Rd.
- 179 family members
Ogden – 344 N. Ogden Ave.
- 627 family members
Parthenon Guest House – 310 S. Halsted St.
- 184 single males
Piotrowski Park – 4247 W. 31st St.
- 200 family members
The Standard Club Social Club – 320 S. Plymouth Ct.
- 1,195 single males and females
Super 8 – listed at 6435 N. California Ave., though this address belongs to the former Northtown Branch Library. Published reports say migrants have been housed in a Super 8 at 7300 N. Sheridan Rd.
- 284 family members
Former Wadsworth Elementary School – 6420 S. University Ave.
- 621 single males and females
Walnut – 1640 W. Walnut St.
- 520 family members
Former High Ridge YMCA - 2424 W. Touhy Ave.
- 159 single males and females
Former Young Women's Leadership Academy – 2641 S. Calumet Ave.
- 249 single males and females
With the new location coming in Pilsen, it is not clear how many migrants will be staying there – or when they will move in. Our sources told us it will be a "large amount," but still not enough to solve the entire housing issue.
"We are providing facilities as best we can across the city," said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
Gov. Pritzker has remained relatively silent on the issue, speaking briefly Thursday about the seriousness of the problem.
Meanwhile, we have also learned more about how the city chooses new locations. Sources told CBS 2 the process, on average, takes a few weeks to identify, inspect, and select a shelter location.
Data we have received data on the issue through the Freedom of Information Act notes hundred of schools, park space, and empty office space have been considered for review.
The criteria are based on this data:
- Spaces must fit 200 people or more.
- Spaces must have no major repairs needed.
- Spaces must have access to showers.
Most of these locations seem to brick-and-mortar – not inclusive of Mayor Brandon Johnson's base camp proposal – for which the mayor recently signed a $29 million contract with a security firm to set up.
The number of options on the table speaks to the scope of the issue.
As for the Pilsen location, local Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) is hosting a public meeting Monday night to discuss next steps.
He would not answer any specific questions on the plan Thursday.