The mayor of Chicago has decided to use the $95 million budget surplus the city has to cover the growing expenses incurred by the thousands of illegal immigrants moving into the city.
The Chicago Sun-Times, quoting Mayor Brandon Johnson’s top aide, claims that the action was taken to inform locals about how the city is caring for and housing the more than 15,000 migrants who are currently swarming the area.
Although the tools will be helpful, Johnson’s senior adviser, Jason Lee, stated that they won’t “change the outlook” for the windy city’s ongoing “unstable” migrant situation.
“That perspective remains unchanged,” Lee stated to the Sun-Times. “We’re going to continue to lobby the federal government for more support as the situation becomes, frankly, more unstable.”
Since August 2022, more than 20,000 migrants have shown up in the Windy City, according to Fox32 Chicago.
Governor J.B. Pritzker declared in November that Illinois would provide an extra $160 million to assist newly arrived migrants in Chicago with their resettlement, with $65 million going toward the establishment of a “winterized” temporary shelter in the city to prevent people from sleeping outside during the cold.
Johnson has attacked the government of President Joe Biden for not allocating further federal funds to assist in addressing a situation that is rapidly getting worse and for which there is no apparent end in sight.
“What I have worked to do instead of having chaos is provide some structure and calm around the situation and, without significant federal support, this is not sustainable,” Johnson told CNN.
“I’ve said repeatedly we need more resources,” he continued.
“[W]ithout real significant investment from our federal government, it won’t just be the city of Chicago that won’t be able to maintain this mission; it’s the entire country that is now at stake,” Johnson stated.
The progressive leader has also attacked Texas Governor Greg Abbott in great detail for transporting migrant groups to sanctuary towns and states on buses.
To draw attention to the effects of illegal immigration on border towns in his state, the governor of Texas has been bussing migrants into the city since last year.
Abbott started transporting migrants into the sanctuary city last week. Johnson bemoaned Abbott’s lack of assistance in resolving the immigration situation.
“In no way what the state of Texas is doing is helping the cause,” he stated on CNN.
Fox News Digital’s request for comment was not immediately answered by the office of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.