Mayor Johnson pivots to greater migrant crisis when asked if tent camp plan was mistake
CHICAGO (CBS) -- When asked Wednesday whether a plan for tent base camps for migrants was a mistake, Mayor Brandon Johnson did not answer directly – instead emphasizing the overall need to plan for the migrant crisis.
We have been covering the migrant crisis daily, and oftentimes, people we meet ask us for more information about what's going on – and how much it's costing the city. CBS 2's Sabrina Franza on Wednesday asked Mayor Brandon Johnson a question that viewers have been asking us.
CBS 2's Sabrina Franza asked Mayor Johnson a question our viewers have been asking us, "Was the tent base camp plan a mistake?"
The mayor was quiet for about five seconds. He then answered: "There were 4,000 people that were living in police districts and the airport – 4,000, sleeping outside on the floor. Now, could I ask a different question? Is it a mistake not to address the crisis; not to plan for it? One would say, resoundingly, that yes, it would be a mistake not to plan for it."
There had been plans for two winterized tent camps for asylum seekers. One site, planned for 38th Street and California Avenue in Brighton Park, was scrapped by Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday of last week.
Pritzker said there were too many environmental concerns at the proposed site to proceed. Construction on tents at that site had already begun before the governor scrapped that plan.
"IEPA would not approve the proposed Brighton Park site for residential use, based on our regulatory standards for remediation of contaminated properties," Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim said last week. "The well-being of residents and workers at the site is our highest priority, and current and planned site conditions do not adequately reduce risks of human exposure to known and potential environmental conditions."
Pritzker's order came just a few days after a nearly 800-page report by contractor Terracon Consultants revealed high levels of mercury and other toxic chemicals were found at the site and were being removed, and the city deemed the site safe to house migrants.
Mayor Johnson at the time defended the city's handling of its environmental assessment of the site.
Gov. Pritzker said Wednesday that GardaWorld, the private security firm that was building the Brighton Park tent camp, would eat the cost of the construction that was halted when the plan was called off.
"They knew, as they were building this shelter before the environmental report came in, that it was possible the environmental report wouldn't allow the completion of the shelter," Pritzker said, "and so they understood that, and they were willing to take that liability."
Meanwhile on Monday of this week, a planned tent camp at 115th and Halsted streets in Morgan Park was placed on ice.
Last month, the City Council approved a plan to purchase that site for $1 to set up a tent camp for up to 1,400 migrants. As part of the agreement, any migrant tent camp built there would have to come down by Oct. 31, 2024, to make way for the Morgan Park Commons, a housing and retail development project that was in the works before the migrant crisis began. The State of Illinois has already invested $15 million into Morgan Park Commons.
The City Council in November agreed to Mayor Brandon Johnson's plan to purchase the lot for a migrant tent camp only after the mayor agreed to that compromise with local Ald. Ronnie Mosley (21st), who had previously opposed the plan. Most of Mosley's City Council colleagues appeared set to vote down the project before he and Johnson reached the deal to set an end date for the migrant camp in Morgan Park.
With the Morgan Park site on hold and the Brighton Park site cancelled altogether, for now it appears the city won't be building any tent camps for migrants, relying instead strictly on brick-and-mortar shelters. Churches have also supplied space for migrants to stay.
The State of Illinois has also promised to turn a former CVS drugstore into a shelter to house around 200 migrants.
"As I continue to do, we have stood up," the mayor said Wednesday. "Shelters – you know, I think were up to 26, almost 30 shelters."
In his press briefing following the City Council meeting Wednesday, Mayor Johnson fronted questions about the migrant crisis. When asked about almost $1 million of city money spent on a tossed migrant tent camp plan in Brighton Park, he explained how the funds were put to use.
"The remediation that was needed; obviously the workforce, and all of that; the contracts to remediate and the workforce," Mayor Johnson said.
We also asked the mayor Wednesday if and when he plans on getting out of the lease at the Brighton Park site – which is costing the city $91,400 a month. Mayor Johnson said the city is in talks with the owner of the property to try to make that happen.
As for GardaWorld, though the city has a $29 million contract with the company, the city said it has not paid the firm a dime. The city contract is not part of the cost that GardaWorld is assuming for the partial construction of the tent camp that ended up being dismantled.
A tent base camp would house upwards of 1,500 people. There are just under 600 migrants awaiting temporary shelter in Chicago right now.
Mayor Johnson also said Wednesday that Near West (12th) District police station, 1412 S. Blue Island Ave., is last remaining station where migrants are being housed.
Meanwhile, the City Council on Wednesday voted on a measure to impound buses bringing in migrants that do not adhere to the city's rules – failing to notify within the proper timeframe, and not dropping off migrants at designated locations. The motion passed.
On Thursday, the City Council will discuss the prospect of Chicago's continued status as a sanctuary city being put to voters.