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Migrants to clear out of five park district buildings, mayor says

migrant shelter at park
People walk into the field house at Brands Park which is being used to house migrant families on May 10, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois.
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – The city is putting five Chicago Park District fieldhouses back into service after they were used for several months as temporary migrant shelters, the Johnson Administration announced Monday.

Beginning Saturday, migrants will be moved from buildings at Gage, Broadway Armory, Brands, Leone and Piotrowski parks and sent to other facilities over the next several weeks. The park buildings will be repaired if necessary and return to public use in time for the summer season.


"I am proud of the efforts of my administration, our partners, and the many Chicagoans who stepped up to welcome new arrivals by providing shelter in our Park District field houses at a time when this was clearly needed," Mayor Johnson said in a prepared statement.

In fact, the city's use of park district buildings since last year has been a sore point for residents who say they provided essential programming for Chicago families.

With an influx of new arrivals coming from the U.S. Southern Border, however, city officials had been hard pressed to find enough shelter space. Now, the Johnson Administration is imposing a 60-day time limit for new arrivals to live at shelters, with some exceptions.

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