CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - The death of a boy who was living at a City migrant shelter is giving more attention to healthcare for all migrants and homeless people in the area.
Cook County Commissioner Dennis Deer stood in the cold earlier this week at a recent unrelated event about fighting opioid overdoses.
Deer responded to questions about the area’s migrant crisis. He was asked about the urgency of keeping new arrivals safe and in good health, especially as winter sets in.
“For Cook County, one of the largest issues that we’re dealing with when it comes to the migrant situation is healthcare,” Deer said. “We are spending close to $3 million each month on healthcare…We know we have to deal with that…It is getting cold, certainly there has to be an issue that we have to deal with is from a homelessness perspective.”
“Our target has always been the healthcare system. We actually at Belmont Cragin have a specific headquarters for the asylum seekers and migrants to ensure that they have appropriate healthcare.”
Thursday, Jesús "Chuy" García and community advocates held a press conference outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field Office demanding that the City receive more federal assistance for migrant healthcare.
Five-year-old Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero died Sunday, Dec. 17. He was staying at a warehouse converted shelter in Pilsen. Since then, several more children who have been staying at that same shelter have been hospitalized with illness.
The City-run shelter near Cermak and Halsted that hosts some 2,300 new arrivals has seen outbreaks of the chicken pox, flu and viruses recently.
WBBM's Nancy Harty contributed to this report.
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