CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The city and 40th Ward Alderman Andre Vasquez presented a plan to North Side residents this week that would turn a motel into transitional housing for the homeless.
The Alderman addressed a standing room only crowd regarding the proposal for the 40-room Diplomat Motel on the 5200 block of North Lincoln Avenue.
"I think this is reflective of a growing problem that we see here in Chicago," he said referring to the homeless. "I think it's clear that it's something we need to address, but I don't think many people know the scale of what we're talking about."
One woman in attendance interrupted Vasquez- raising the migrant issue.
"We don't know who they are. We don't know where they came from," she said. "We don't know what the hell they want here."
She seemed to have both supporters and detractors and the meeting got a little heated.
Vasquez made it clear this is not immigrant housing.
It would be transitional housing for forty people at a time and would include services like medical care and mental health support designed to get them back on their feet.
The Department of Public Health says a pilot program in some downtown hotels during the height of COVID proved successful.
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