Alderman awaits details on proposed migrant shelter in Ukrainian Village

migrants in lobby of Chicago police station
Migrant families from Venezuela look on in the lobby of a police station where they have been staying since their arrival to the city on May 09, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. Photo credit (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A Chicago alderman hopes a community meeting Thursday evening will shed more light on a proposed migrant shelter in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood.

Johnson Administration officials, Chicago police and 36th Ward Ald. Gilbert Villegas are hosting the meeting at Chopin Elementary School.

Villegas said city officials have only told him the proposed shelter would be at 526 N. Western Avenue and would house about 200 migrants, but the alderman says he's looking for much more information.

Villegas also says he read a report that the city's average monthly cost for sheltering a migrant is $7,000.

“And yet they’re living in police stations. So, I’m wondering where in the heck is the money going?”

If true, Villegas said, the city might find less expensive options, such as renting vacant apartments.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)