“I am concerned”: Migrants sent to Chicago begin to arrive in suburbs

According to to local news reports in Chicago, dozens of migrants have been sent from the city to at least two nearby suburbs. Those migrants have been sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, R, from Texas in recent weeks.

According to Fox 32, 90 migrants were sent to Elk Grove Village on Friday night. The village was informed of this by state of Illinois officials at 1:30 p.m. CDT Friday.

According to WGN, several dozen migrants have been relocated to a hotel in Burr Ridge. Officials told WGN they did not receive an advanced notice.

“I am concerned neither the village administrator nor I were told about this,” Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso said. “We want to know: Why Burr Ridge?”

In addition to the little to no warning of the migrants’ arrival, Elk Grove County Mayor Craig Johnson added there was no prior notification that the state’s plan for welcoming migrants included sending them to hotels in suburban communities. There was also no direction from state, county or City of Chicago authorities with respect to how municipalities are expected to handle this unanticipated situation.

The Chicago migrants’ arrival in nearby suburbs comes just days after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blasted Gov. Abbot for treating the migrants like “cargo” and not providing her with advance notice they were arriving.

“My frustration comes from the actions of the governor of Texas,” Lightfoot said last week. “There could be a level of coordination and cooperation, but he chooses to do none of those things and instead tries to send human beings — not cargo, not freight — human beings across the country to an uncertain destination.”