Proposed solutions to migrant influx in Chicago cause conflict among Dems
A wealthy Chicago suburb is considering having residents open up their homes to migrants who are on the streets of the Windy City. The idea is being pitched as a possible answer to help with the influx of migrants arriving at Chicago bus stations as lawmakers struggle to find a solution.
Chicago has been a sanctuary city for decades. The designation implies it will protect migrants and assist them with city services. This attracts migrants, knowing resources will be made available to them.
However, some Democrats are saying city resources are becoming depleted because of the influx of migrants arriving. Democrats contend the resources would otherwise be helping other minorities in need.
Now, Chicago is being sued over its handling of the migrant influx.
“We would like to see our status as a sanctuary city removed,” Chicago Democratic government employee Cata Truss said. “We would also like to see a better plan in place. There is no money to take care of the migrants, nor is there money to take care of the people that are there.”
Not only are Democrats coming for the city’s left-leaning policies, but some are also looking to recall their Democratic mayor over the migrant crisis.
The crisis has also spread into the suburbs where one Naperville councilman is vowing not to use his city’s taxpayer money to house migrants. Instead, he is asking residents if they would be willing to help and house migrant families.
“We do know there’s increasing pressure for suburbs to, I guess, do our part,” Naperville councilman Josh McBroom said. “You know we do have a very affluent community, a lot of big homes. What I would like to do is direct staff to create a sign up sheet. So for individuals that would be willing to house migrant families. And if there’s people to do that, God bless them.”
Big sanctuary cities like Chicago are struggling to keep up with tens of thousands of migrants who have entered the U.S., and every month at the southern border, hundreds of thousands continue to cross.
Texas bus company sues Chicago over law targeting buses carrying migrants
Fighting between state and city leaders is leaving migrants out in the cold — literally and figuratively. With the near-constant busing of thousands of migrants from Texas to cities like New York and Chicago, finding warm shelter space is next to impossible. Chicago uses public transportation buses as makeshift warming centers for migrants, many of whom officials said were dropped off with no winter clothing.
“I slept sitting because there is almost no space left,” Angelo Travieso, a migrant sent from Texas to Chicago, said. “The buses are also small, and you practically have to stay inside because of the heating because it is deadly cold outside.”
The volume of migrants being dropped off has led city officials in Chicago to implement rules restricting where and when buses could drop off migrants and to notify the city ahead of time or risk having buses impounded and fines of up to $3,000. The rule rippled across the Windy City, with suburbs and counties surrounding Chicago implementing similar requirements, even putting up signs warning buses carrying migrants to keep driving.
You seem to have no interest in working on bipartisan solutions to the border crisis because that would put an end to your cruel political game, but I am writing to you today hoping to appeal to your humanity.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, D-Illinois
“So when we started learning about these buses dropping in our surrounding counties, counties like Kankakee county, for example, I spoke with Sheriff Downey, who told me that he learned that several buses had dropped in his county at 4:30 in the morning, basically kicked the people off the bus and said, ‘Welcome to Chicago’ and left,” said Ken Briley, Grundy County sheriff.
“You seem to have no interest in working on bipartisan solutions to the border crisis because that would put an end to your cruel political game, but I am writing to you today hoping to appeal to your humanity,” Pritzker wrote.
While Pritzker acknowledged the federal government does need to make meaningful steps in reforming border policy, he concluded there needs to be action “for mercy for the thousands of people who are powerless to speak for themselves.”
In a Jan. 12, 2024, press release, Abbott detailed sending more than 100,000 migrants to cities nationwide, including 30,800 to Chicago since August 2022.
EV batteries struggle in cold temps, drivers left stranded as stations freeze
Winter weather and freezing temperatures are blanketing much of the continental United States. Those conditions have been proven to be tough for people to withstand and for electric vehicle batteries to maintain their charge.
“We’ve got a bunch of dead robots out here,” one EV driver told FOX 32 in Chicago.
“Nothing. No juice. Still on zero percent,” Tyler Beard told FOX 32. “And this is like three hours being out here after being out here three hours yesterday.”
Getting a charge is hard enough but holding that charge is also a challenge. Zapped battery life is an issue facing all EVs in the market, according to a recent Recurrent analysis.
According to report, the range of an EV drops by 30% in freezing weather. The 18 popular EV models analyzed by Recurrent maintained an average of 70.3% of their normal range in freezing conditions.
Tesla reminded its drivers that vehicles use more energy to heat their batteries and cabin in cold weather.
2023 US homicide rates fell by record numbers compared to 2022
Despite nationwide concerns about violent crime on the rise in the U.S., newly released data shows a marked decline in at least one type of violent crime. According to preliminary data from law enforcement, the homicide rate in the U.S. is expected to drop by 13% by the end of the year.
“It is historic. It’s the largest one-year decline,” Asher said. “It’s cities of every size, it’s the suburbs, it’s rural counties, tiny cities, it’s large cities. It’s really a national decline.”
According to a recent Gallup poll, more than three-quarters of Americans believe crime rates are worse this year than in 2022.
Fifty-eight percent of Democrats and 78% of Independents believe crime is up. Republicans overwhelmingly believe crime is worse than last year at 92%.
Asher, a former CIA crime analyst, said what news outlets cover and what is seen on social media likely plays a role in American’s perception of crime, which, he added, has been at odds with actual crime data.
Despite what seems like non-stop coverage of crime in the news, 2023 homicide numbers are down by double digits nationwide, including in many major cities like Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, Houston and Los Angeles, according to the preliminary data.
While national homicide numbers are down, there are still some outliers. As of this week, numbers show Washington D.C. and Dallas both saw homicides jump this year compared to last.
Colorado GOP appeals ruling barring Trump from 2024 ballot: The Morning Rundown, Dec. 28, 2023
The Colorado Republican Party is appealing the ruling by the state’s high court that bans former President Trump from running again. And Apple is restocking its shelves after an import ban on its watches is temporarily blocked. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023.
Colorado Republican Party appeals ruling barring Trump from ballot
The Colorado Republican Party has appealed the state’s Supreme Court ruling that found former President Donald Trump is ineligible to run again due to the Constitution’s “insurrection clause.” In its 4-3 ruling last week, the Colorado Supreme Court determined that based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bans insurrectionists from holding office, Trump is barred from running for president because of his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
For the first time in American history, a former president has been disqualified from the ballot…
“For the first time in American history, a former president has been disqualified from the ballot, a political party has been denied the opportunity to put forward the presidential candidate of its choice, and the voters have been denied the ability to choose their chief executive through the electoral process,” party attorneys wrote in the filing.
Colorado’s Supreme Court had overturned a ruling from a district court judge who found that Trump incited an insurrection but could not be barred from the ballot because it was not clear if Section 3 covered the presidency. The Colorado Supreme Court put its ruling on hold until Jan. 4 to give time for an appeal. The former president said he also plans to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a similar case, Michigan’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday, Dec. 27, that Trump could remain on the state’s ballot, with one judge saying Colorado’s election laws differ from Michigan’s.
House Republicans seek White House documents over Hunter Biden
House Republicans have requested that the White House turn over any documents related to President Biden’s alleged knowledge of his son Hunter Biden’s refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee in December. Republicans Jim Jordan and James Comer sent a letter to the White House looking for any correspondence regarding Hunter Biden’s scheduled deposition with the House Oversight Committee on Dec. 13.
…we are compelled to examine as part of our impeachment inquiry whether the president engaged in a conspiracy to obstruct a proceeding of Congress…
Reps. James Comer, R-Ky., Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio
Hunter Biden defied the subpoena, telling reporters outside the U.S. Capitol that day that he would answer any relevant questions lawmakers had about his foreign business dealings in an open-door setting. Following Hunter Biden’s comments, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that the president was “familiar with” what Hunter would say in his statement; Comer and Jordan said that comment sparked their probe.
“In light of an official statement from the White House that President Biden was aware in advance that his son, Hunter Biden, would knowingly defy two Congressional subpoenas, we are compelled to examine as part of our impeachment inquiry whether the president engaged in a conspiracy to obstruct a proceeding of Congress,” Jordan and Comer wrote.
House Republicans have given the White House until Jan. 10 to turn over any documents related to the inquiry.
New York City mayor issues executive order for migrant charter buses
“We cannot allow buses with people needing our help to arrive without warning at any hour of day and night. This not only prevents us from providing assistance in an orderly way, it puts those who have already suffered so much in danger,” Adams said. “To be clear, this is not stopping people from coming, but about ensuring the safety of migrants and making sure they can arrive in a coordinated and orderly way.”
The U.S. is seeing a surge in illegal crossings at its southern border, with illegal crossings topping 10,000 some days.
Adams was joined in a virtual news conference by the Democratic mayors of Chicago and Denver, who are all pressing the federal government for more aid for the asylum seekers arriving in their cities.
Former U.S. Senator, Milwaukee Bucks owner Herb Kohl dies at 88
Herb Kohl, the former Democratic U.S. Senator from Wisconsin and owner of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, died on Wednesday, Dec. 27, at the age of 88 after a brief illness, his foundation announced. In the 1970s, Kohl served as president of his family’s chain of supermarkets and department stores until the family sold their interest in 1979, which gave him time to fund his other passions outside of the business.
Starting in 1989, Kohl served 24 years in the U.S. Senate. He chaired the Senate Aging Committee and was a supporter of public education. Kohl purchased the Bucks in 1985 for $18 million, ensuring the team would not leave his hometown. In 2014, he sold the team while contributing $100 million toward the construction of a new arena. In 2021, the Bucks won the NBA championship; Kohl called it “one of the big days” of his life.
Apple restarts watch sales as court blocks import ban
Apple is bringing back its latest watches to its store shelves after a federal appeals court has temporarily blocked an import ban by the U.S. International Trade Commission.
“We are thrilled to return the full Apple Watch lineup to customers in time for the new year,” Apple said in a statement. “Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, including the blood oxygen feature, will become available for purchase again in the United States at Apple Stores starting [Wednesday] and from apple.com [Thursday] by 12 pm PT.”
Beginning Thursday, Dec. 28, all watches will be available online and in stores, a major victory for the tech giant in one of its most profitable times of the year. Still, Apple is not out of the woods, as the ongoing patent dispute with medical device company Masimo makes its way through the courts.
Masimo sued Apple in 2020 over patent infringement, claiming the tech company stole its blood-oxygen reading technology for its watches. Massimo has not commented on the latest decision, according to media reports.
Times Square restaurants, hotels offering NYE experiences
Those of you heading to Times Square to ring in the new year won’t have to spend a dime to see the ball drop from the street. But if you want to experience it from a nearby hotel or restaurant, that’s a different story.
Thinking of spending the night at the Olive Garden’s Times Square location? That will cost you $450 per person. The party atmosphere includes a buffet, open bar, and dancing, but a live view of the ball drop is not guaranteed. At Applebee’s, tickets start at $799 for its event, which includes similar accommodations plus a guided stroll to the street to celebrate the ball drop at midnight.
Bubba Gump Shrimp is also hosting a New Year’s party with a buffet, dessert stations, and party favors for a price of $1,015 per ticket.
If a hotel is more your speed, the Marriott Marquis is hosting a formal wear gala complete with a 5-hour buffet and floor-to-ceiling windows, and guests are given an unobstructed view of Times Square. The prime VIP package for two costs $12,500 to celebrate 2024 in style.
Chicagoans want answers after city pays outside vendor $93M for migrant care
Chicago has paid vendors $138 million to provide care for migrants for just over a year during the ongoing U.S. immigration crisis. The city faces mounting criticism for doling out more than $90 million to a Kansas firm while local organizations received far less funding.
Kanas-based Favorite Healthcare is owned by a U.K.-based organization known as The Acacium Group, Axios reported.
Chicago officials have accused Favorite of charging taxpayers “exorbitant” fees. Invoices show the company billing Chicago $50 per hour for trash runners and $180 per hour for site managers.
Of the $138 million Chicago paid out to vendors for migrant care, Favorite Healthcare Staffing received $93 million, or 68% of the overall funding, according to NBC Chicago. Local organizations received $24 million from the city.
Local lawmakers want more local workers hired instead of sending money out of the city.
“We want more accountability,” Chicago’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights Chair Ald. Andre Vasquez told Axios. “We want to know how much money the company is keeping versus giving the workers, who they’re hiring, how they’re hiring and who gets promoted, especially if we’re putting in this many dollars.”
Favorite is not releasing those details, saying the company is “contractually” forbidden from commenting on its city work.
In 2022, then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot signed the initial deal with Favorite for $57 million. The city increased the contract in October, adding $36 million.
The city, Axios said, vowed that by the first week of December it would hire local vendors to run migrant shelters, but it’s still paying Favorite to run all 27 facilities.
Mayor Brandon Johnson now says local vendors will replace Favorite “soon.”
The city paid nearly $1 million in fees for a failed migrant camp in Brighton Park that would’ve featured winterized tents for migrants.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) shut the camp down in the midst of construction because of contamination concerns.
The city is also paying developers and contractors high rents to host migrant shelters.
Newsweek reported more than 25,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago in the past 16 months.
Immigrant crisis looms as winter approaches; voters, migrants want action
Chicago city officials are seeking to turn a vacant parking lot into a temporary winterized tent community to house migrants. The city inked a deal in October with the owners of the vacant lot, located at 38th and California in the Brighton neighborhood, according to NBC News Chicago.
The project hasn’t started construction yet, and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office hasn’t said when it will begin
Half a dozen Chicago residents filed suit against the city over the proposed project, asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction to halt construction before the property becomes a base camp for nearly 2,000 migrants. Those migrants are currently living in Chicago’s airports, police stations, parks and on city sidewalks. Two of the plaintiffs are sets to appear in front of a judge Monday, Nov. 27.
For city officials, the suit is another hurdle in finding migrant housing before Chicago’s winter weather sets in. Last week, Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the state will spend $160 million to address Chicago’s migrant crisis with $65 million earmarked for the winterized tent housing project.
“We have a Congress abdicating its responsibility and border politicians using human beings as political pawns in their partisan games,” Pritzker said. “Even with some help that we’re getting from the federal government, we’re being forced to try and solve a federal-sized problem at the state and local levels.”
Immigration is a top issue for voters in 2024, according to a June Gallup poll. The poll shows that 68% of Americans say immigration is a good thing for the country while 27% say it’s bad.
Nearly half of those polled said that immigrants make drugs, crime and taxes worse for Americans.
In a recent NBC News poll, roughly 3 out of 4 registered voters “support more funding for security along the U.S. border with Mexico.”
Some immigrants who have been in the United States for years say new migrants are getting special treatment from the White House as President Biden’s new legal pathway for asylum-seekers requires no waiting period for work permits.
“We all have the right to come to this country to progress,” said Jose Guerrero, an immigrant and Florida resident, in an interview with The Associated Press. “The only problem is that newly arrived migrants have been able to receive their documents quickly and someone like me who’s been living here for years, they don’t want to give us anything.”
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he plans to bring Biden’s Ukraine aid package to the Senate floor the week of Dec. 4. Republicans are looking to strike a bipartisan immigration deal to tighten asylum laws and attach it to the aid.
“We should be able to come together and figure this out,” said Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla. “Our country is at risk. This is a national security issue, not to mention, drugs and everything else that the Border Patrol can’t go interdict because they’re processing so many migrants at this time.”
Congress has not passed meaningful immigration reform since the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.
Democratic mayors visit Biden, request $5B for immigration crises in their cities
Democratic mayors from some of the nation’s largest cities are meeting in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Nov. 2, to ask for more resources in handling the immigration crisis. Mayors from Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, and Houston are asking the federal government for help. New York City Mayor Eric Adams was planning to be in attendance but had to cancel at the last minute.
The Biden administration has asked Congress to allocate $1.4 billion in food, shelter, and services for migrants needs in U.S. cities. While the five mayors thanked the president, they also requested that he triples the asking amount.
“While we are greatly appreciative of the additional federal funding proposed, our city budgets and local taxpayers continue to bear the brunt of this ongoing federal crisis,” the letter said. “We respectfully advocate for additional funding.”
The requested $5 billion is to cover expenses that the cities have already incurred and costs of migrants in the foreseeable future. According to the letter, Denver spends $2 million a week on shelter for migrants alone. Chicago has spent $320 million this year and New York has surpassed a total of $1.7 billion dollars on migrants there.
The mayors collectively listed four critical steps for success in handling the immigration crisis. The steps involve money, approving work authorizations more quickly, and increasing work opportunities for migrants. The last step listed is appointing regional coordinators to assist in dispersing migrants across the U.S. into cities with more capacity.
None of the steps involved slowing the influx of migrants into the country but rather how the country can better set migrants up for success upon arrival. In October, Mayor Adams clarified that New York City believes the border should remain open.
“We believe the border should remain open,” Adams said. “That is the official position of this city but we have made it clear there should be a decompression strategy that we could properly deal with the volumes that are coming into our cities and no cities should have to carry the burden of the national government.”
As the mayors meet in D.C. to discuss the overflow of migrants in their cities, more migrants are on their way in the form of a caravan. According to the caravan organizer, Irineo Mujica, the group has swelled from about 1,000 on Monday to more than 7,000 people as of Thursday.
Ill. Gov. Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Johnson confront White House over migrant crisis
Tensions are rising between top Democrats in Illinois and the Biden administration over the state’s migrant crisis. Thousands of migrants are being relocated to Chicago, however limited resources to house them are being provided.
Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker penned a letter to President Joe Biden criticizing the federal government’s response to the migrant crisis, writing “this is an untenable situation that has been exacerbated by a lack of federal action.”
Pritzker says his state has received more than 15,000 migrants seeking asylum since August 2022, mostly in the Chicago area.
Chicago is housing thousands of migrants at 23 shelters, several police stations and parks, along with Midway and O’Hare International Airports where they sleep on floors and share public restrooms.
Now, officials with the city say they are running out of room and resources to house and feed migrants.
Pritzker is demanding a coordinated response by the White House at the U.S. southern border, writing “the federal government must stop abdicating responsibility once CBP releases migrants into the interior of the country.”
He is calling on the Biden administration to take swift action by waiving fees for temporary protected status applications, coordinating logistics for migrants resettling, providing financial support to states and local governments, accelerating the timeline for employment authorization, and approving Illinois’ requests for Medicaid waivers and housing vouchers.
According to White House officials, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson along with Gov. Pritzker spoke with top aides to Biden on Sunday, Oct. 1, pleading for federal help.
During the week of Sept. 24, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced $12.2 million in grants through FEMA to help support communities providing services to migrants. However, the money is not enough to help cities overwhelmed with tens of thousands of migrants.
Also in September, the White House offered Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelan migrants who arrived in the U.S. by July 31, 2023.
The news was welcomed by New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who says the country is dealing with a migrant crisis simultaneously with a workforce crisis.
“For months, I’ve been saying the key to solving the asylum seeker crisis,” said Hochul during a news conference Monday, Oct. 2. “It’s a crisis because of the volume of people. The key is so simple, so crystal clear. They came to work, so let’s put them to work!”
Hochul’s office announced that nearly 400 employers are willing to hire migrants with legal work status for 18,000 open jobs across New York state. Whether Hochul’s solution works is yet to be seen.
Meanwhile, Chicago city officials inked a $29 million dollar deal with a private contractor to build “military grade” tent cities to house migrants. There has been no word on where those will be built, or if they’ll be completed before winter.
Hundreds of migrants housed at O’Hare as Chicago deals with ongoing crisis
Hundreds of migrants are living in Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport while the city attempts to find them permanent housing. Since August 2022, over 15,000 migrants seeking asylum arrived in Chicago, according to city data. Buses and planes carrying migrants from the southern border continue arriving in the Windy City — 59 buses arrived in September alone.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Deputy Chief of Staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas says city officials are doing the best they can to mitigate the influx.
According to Pacione-Zayas, Chicago added more than a dozen shelters since May and resettled about 3,000 people. Nearly 200,000 meals are served to migrants weekly and the city partners with groups to get them medical care.
However, the city is running out of resources to care for them. CBS News in Chicago is reporting that nearly 9,300 migrants are staying at 21 city shelters, and more than 2,300 are sleeping on the floors at the city’s police stations and airports.
At O’Hare International, nearly 500 migrants are living behind a black curtain in Terminal #1 in a space smaller than a city block. The migrants are sleeping on cardboard pads and sharing airport bathrooms. Medical care is limited, and donations aren’t as easily accepted here because of security concerns.
At a Chicago City Council meeting on Friday, Sept. 29, frustrations boiled over regarding the city’s handling of the migrant crisis.
City leaders and citizens criticized officials for — in their view — prioritizing migrants over struggling Chicago residents.
“Those are the people we should’ve been paying first,” said Ald. Jeanette Taylor, who represents Chicago’s 20th ward. “Because them is the people from our community.”
Chicago inked a $29 million deal with a private contractor to move migrants from the temporary shelters to massive military grade tent camps before winter.
However, some of the city’s alderpeople reject the idea of building a tent city, but say Mayor Johnson doesn’t have many options.
“They feel as though they don’t have any other options,” said Ald. Andre Vasquez, representative for Chicago’s 40th ward. “And that’s why they’re going for it this way. It’s not like they’re hop, skipping and jumping to get a tent set up. It’s difficult for everybody involved.”
City officials say they’ve received $41 million in federal funding to help with the migrant influx, but they have expressed that it’s not enough.
In the committee meeting, Johnson and some of Chicago’s alderpeople said they want to visit the southern border to see the migrant crisis for themselves. There has been no word on when that trip is expected to take place.