More worries about migrants amid sub-freezing cold, snag in plans for tent camp
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Some of the migrants who have arrived in Chicago in recent months were still sleeping outside in below-freezing conditions Monday night, as the city works to place them in shelters.
As CBS 2's Marybel González reported, this all comes as the start of construction has been stalled at a planned tent base camp for migrants in Brighton Park.
Volunteers have been out trying to help migrants who are still in tents outside.
"People who yesterday were in Texas could be here on the sidewalk on a tent tomorrow," said volunteer Lydia Wong.
Amid sub-freezing temperatures Monday night, there was growing concern for migrants in their tents outside facilities such as police stations.
"We have significant fears of things like frostbite, hypothermia," said Wong. "People here aren't used to the cold at all."
At the Harrison (11th) District police station, at 3151 W. Harrison St. on the city's West Side, around 17 people were waiting on shelter Monday night.
The station is unique in the sense that it does not have a lobby. There is only room for the police desk.
"At those districts, you can at least go in, go to the bathroom, warm up for a minute," said Wong, "and here, the cold is relentless."
As it gets colder and the need for shelter grows more urgent, construction plans for a winterized tent camp in Brighton Park have hit a snag. Its alderwoman says the land where it would go up could contain pollutants.
"I have asked the administration to share as much as they could about that happening," said Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th). "They have not."
Ramirez said she was told by Mayor Brandon Johnson's office last week that construction on a tent camp for migrants would begin Monday at a vacant lot at 38th and California, but the Mayor's office said that work won't begin just yet.
"Delivery and staging of equipment have been scheduled for today so construction can begin at a later date," a Johnson spokesperson said in an email.
There has been confusion over when construction will begin due to heavy metal contamination found in the soil at the site. The city is moving to clean up the contamination before putting up any tents.
According to published reports, the site was once owned by a railroad company, and included a zinc smelter. An assessment by the city reportedly found heavy metal contamination at the site.
"There was heavy metal identified. There was a remediation that took place last week," Ramirez said Monday.
The city said it is confident that plans can continue, but did not tell us when. But the state is stepping in to help.
Gov. JB Pritzker announced $160 million toward the construction of the Brighton Park site, and to turn a former CVS in Little Village into another shelter.
For volunteers who work with the asylum seekers, this help cannot come soon enough.
"We've had a year to prepare for this. This is not a surprise," said Wong, "and yet, we still have the city plan for new arrivals in Chicago is to be dumped on a sidewalk."