(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Joliet Township has been awarded an $8.6 million state grant to help migrants, but the news was a surprise to Joliet city officials, who oppose any influx of asylum seekers.
"The decision-makers of this city did not have knowledge of a grant request made by Joliet Township with community partners and organizations," Joliet Mayor Terry D'Arcy said Monday at a city council meeting.
D'Arcy and other Joliet leaders say they don't welcome a draw on city resources that might come with asylum seekers.
"It will be a tremendous strain and overtaxing on our existing infrastructure," the mayor said.
He has asked Joliet Township to withdraw the grant application.
The controversy in Joliet comes as Chicago is struggling to accommodate busloads of migrants being sent from the U.S. Southern Border by Republican governors critical of the Biden Administration. Chicago and Illinois officials have asked Biden to intervene at the border and make more aid available.
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