(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Suburban communities are having to respond to the Chicago migrant crisis as buses from Texas have been stopping short of the city, in some instances just abandoning the asylum-seekers.
They’re targeting the bus companies that have been trying to avoid potentially having busses impounded in Chicago for not following the rules.
Aurora is among suburbs trying to discourage them from dropping off migrants at Metra stations or just leaving them.
City emergency management coordinator Natalie Wiza told council members that regulations were needed to ensure that new arrivals would be able to safely get access to needed services in Chicago.
"We had a bus hiding at the post office, but that's starting to become more frequent in the region," she said. "They're finding alternative ways to hide from security cameras to drop people off in parking lots, to get them blocks away from train stations and to leave these individuals to fend for themselves."
Aurora City Council passed an ordinance Friday that requires transportation companies to notify the city at least five days prior to arrival and then receive approval first before individuals are allowed to disembark in Aurora.
One bus left about 40 people at a truck stop in Kankakee Thursday morning.
“The passengers, hailing from Venezuela, were left without money, food, adequate clothing, and were under the impression that they had reached their destination,” said the sheriff’s office, which responded to a report at the gas station around 7:30 a.m.
Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey said the office is trying to identify anyone responsible for leaving the migrants at the gas station.
The Village of Elburn received its first bus of migrants from Texas Thursday. They showed up at the Metra station there. Some of the 38 migrants had train tickets and several were picked up at the station.
Elburn Village President Jeffrey Walter said there will be a special meeting of the Village Board next week to discuss options.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who’s reportedly spent about $90 million dollars sending migrants out of the state, responded to Chicago’s crackdown on bus companies not following the rules by sending over 120 migrants to Chicago on a chartered plane.
It is expected there will be more.
The Chicago Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
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