Vacant lot in Brighton Park could soon become Chicago tent camp for migrants
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Tent base camps could soon be going up in Chicago. Sources said construction may have already started on one such camp on the Southwest Side at 38th and California.
The huge plot of land near Brighton Park stretches out for about a block in each direction. It's empty now, but city and private construction crews were on site all day Friday. One city worker there confirmed they were prepping the area for large winterized tents that would be used to house migrants.
For hours on Friday, multiple crews could be seen leveling the ground of the empty lot on 38th and California, removing debris, and taking out dirt.
Some of those trucks belonged to the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation and Chicago Department of Transportation.
One of the city workers at the lot said crews were putting up lights for a migrant tent camp.
Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th) said the city has not confirmed this is happening, but sources said the lot could be one of the sites where large military-grade tents could be erected to house migrants, and start moving some asylum seekers out of police stations.
Neighbors said it used to be a parking lot for semi-trucks, but they haven't been spotted parking there in months.
In early September, Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration asked alderpeople via a Zoom call to identify empty lots in their wards where tent sites could go up, catching many City Council members by surprise.
Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38th) is among those who doesn't want tent camps in his ward.
"But there is no place to put them, unless they're going to put them in parks," he said.
Almost two weeks after that call with alderpeople, Johnson entered into a $29.3 million dollar contract with private security firm Gardaworld to build so-called "winterized base camps" for migrants.
"The city was looking at setting up these military-grade tent base camps," said Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), who chairs the City Council Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
The contract did not outline locations where the tent encampments would be built, but did show the amenities they would have – including mobile kitchens, sleeping quarters, bathrooms, showers, and more.
The mayor's office and other city departments did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The lot's property manager said the owner met with the city a few weeks ago to discuss a possible lease.
The only other specific site identified so far as a possible tent encampment is a parking lot near 115th and Halsted. Sources said that site could house more than 1,000 migrants in tents.
Many neighbors, frustrated with the possibility of a large migrant base camp there, pointed out at a community meeting last month that the site had already been earmarked to become Morgan Park Commons – a development of housing, retail, and park space. The state of Illinois set aside $15 million for that project.
Developers were not able to issue a statement on that site on Friday, only saying the city hasn't given them "final details" for the Halsted Street site.
As of Friday, more than 18,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since last August, most of them from Texas. More than 11,000 of those were staying in one of nearly two dozen temporary shelters operated by the city, while more than 3500 others were living at police stations or the city's airports while waiting for spots in a shelter.
