Mayor's office proposes housing migrants in huge military-grade tents
CHICAGO (CBS) -- With nowhere to go, migrants for some time have been sleeping on floors at Chicago Police stations across the city.
On Friday, members of the City Council are meeting to try to come up with solutions to move migrants out of police stations – and into huge tents that could fit hundreds of people. The tents are supposed to be outfitted for the cold.
As CBS 2's Sabrina Franza reported Thursday night, there are many unanswered questions about this plan from Mayor Brandon Johnson. We don't know how much it will cost, nor how long the tents are supposed to be up.
"It's in essence what will probably feel like a refugee camp," said Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), chairman of the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Vasquez said the tents would be military-grade tents, and would be large enough to house hundreds. But he has questions too.
"There's only a certain amount of places that have that much open space," Vasquez said, "and I think that leads into bigger concerns about which communities are going to see these."
Vasquez has questions about the where, the when, and the price tag.
"I have real concerns about it, because we're talking the winter here in Chicago," he said.
Our sources told us that a few of the tents are set to go at 115th and Halsted streets in the West Pullman neighborhood – enough to house 1,400 people.
"Is building tents the long-term solution? Absolutely not," Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd), "but in the meantime, if it's dignified space to house people for the short term, I think it's well worth our investment."
Ald. Rodriguez's ward in Little Village is served by the Ogden (10th) police District. Migrants lie on the floor of the district police station for comfort.
"You've got 3-year-old children who are sleeping on police floors," Rodriguez said. "That's an untenable situation."
We have tried to reach out to the Mayor's office for comment, as it is his plan. We have received no response.
Franza: "Is the city failing these people in any way?"
Vasquez: "It's a challenging question to answer, because you have to think about the actual power and resources and ability the municipal government has in relation to how large this problem is."
We do know that on Friday afternoon, the mayor will hold a meeting with the alders to talk about the plan. They will get to ask some of their questions, and we are told afterward, the news media will too.