(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is downplaying complaints from a couple of suburban mayors who say they are being blindsided by Chicago sending migrants from Texas to their towns.
Even as Chicago and Illinois state government officials criticize Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for busing migrants from the Southern Border to Chicago without warning, mayors in Burr Ridge and Elk Grove Village accuse Chicago and the state of doing the same thing here.
Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso last week complained that his village was not notified that several migrants were being put up in a local hotel. He said he’s not unsympathetic to their plight, but the lack of communication is inexcusable.
Pritzker said Chicago, with state assistance, finds temporary quarters with little lead time. Putting asylum-seekers in available suburban hotel rooms when Chicago is out of capacity isn’t burdening those communities, he said.
“This is a few weeks, perhaps as much as 30 days, in which we’re providing that shelter,” the governor said Monday. “And those folks are getting picked up, as somebody pointed out, by relatives. They have friends, they have sponsors.”
No municipal resources are being drained, the Pritzker Administration noted.
Abbott says he’s sending migrants to other U.S. cities to protest the way the Biden Administration is handling the border.
Related
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram