CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — As planes flew overhead en route to Midway Airport, dozers flattened the earth at a large, vacant lot in Brighton Park, where the City of Chicago is planning to place a winterized base camp intended to house, potentially, thousands of incoming migrants.
Construction on the site, located at the corner of West 38th Street and California Avenue, continued as a group of nearby residents looked on in disapproval.
"Every day they come … every day," said May, a Brighton Park resident.
May told WBBM that many neighborhood residents were locked out of a nearby community meeting on the camp earlier this week. Instead, she claimed Mayor Brandon Johnson packed the meeting solely with supporters of his plan.
During that meeting, Brighton Park Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th) heard from many who objected to the lack of public information regarding the plans for the 10-acre site, though others in attendance implored their neighbors to be more welcoming.
Within May's tight-knit Asian American community, she said money is being raised with plans of court action against the tent site.
Some neighbors have taken time off work to man a protest hub adjacent to the property day and night, and some local businesses have been doing their best to show support of the protest. At least one local restaurant has put its bottom line aside to keep the protestors fed.
"No matter if it's breakfast, lunch [or] dinner, they will sit with us for free," said one restaurateur. "Anything free."
A sign in a barbershop, located directly across the street, read: "Our Business, Our Neighborhood, Our Voice … We Say No. No Camp."
Signs in a Brighton Park barbershop voice opposition to a planned migrant tent encampment.Brandon Ison
Meanwhile, at City Hall, officials with the Johnson Administration said buses full of asylum seekers are still arriving in Chicago. Deputy Mayoral Chief of Staff Cristina Pacinoe-Zayas said the current census of migrants shows nearly 12,000 in the city. She said 10 buses have arrived this week in Chicago.
"That brings us up to 343 [buses] since May 12," she said.
At one point, there were 10 buses or more per day. Pacione-Zayas was part of Chicago's delegation to the southern border, and she said they've already started to see better coordination with officials in Texas who are sending the buses.
May, a Brighton Park resident, said some in her community are raising money with plans of court action over a planned tent encampment that could house, potentially, thousands of incoming migrants.Brandon Ison
"We are getting more manifests now," she said. "People understand the level of intentionality, as well as comprehensiveness, of our work here and how necessary and helpful it is for us to have information about who's coming."
Still, she said the City needs much more federal help, and right now, it's only getting a little more.
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