Midwest
Chicago eliminates migrant-only shelters, 'landing zone'
Chicago is shutting down its migrant-only shelter system and merging it with the city’s traditional homeless shelter system.
The Windy City is also closing its “landing zone” for migrants where newly arrived migrants get shelter placements and other resources. The landing zone will close at the end of 2024 and is now only open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., as opposed to also being open overnight.
The moves come as the number of migrants arriving in the Windy City continues to drop. At its peak in late-December, the city was housing about 14,900 migrants, but that has fallen to around 5,000, per reports.
CHICAGO SCHOOLS REPORTEDLY INSTRUCTED TEACHERS TO GIVE MIGRANTS PASSING GRADES REGARDLESS OF PERFORMANCE
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is shutting down its migrant-only shelter system and merging it with the city’s traditional homeless shelter system. (Vincent Alban/Getty Images)
The overhaul will see 3,800 beds added to the city’s current homeless services system of 3,000 legacy beds in a new strategy being labeled as the One System Initiative (OSI). The new strategy aims to streamline operations and reduce the high cost of operating the migrant shelters, which have stretched the city’s budget.
“We are shifting to a more cost-effective, equitable, and strategic approach that addresses homelessness for all who need support in the City of Chicago,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said Monday in a press release announcing the plan. “This transition is in line with the sharp decline in migration to Chicago and our current budget realities.”
The press release states that the OSI is a “unified sheltering system to serve all Chicagoans” which will take effect by the new year.
Johnson took a swipe at Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who began busing thousands of migrants to the Windy City in 2022 because of its sanctuary city status as Texas struggled to cater to an unprecedented surge of migrants arriving in the Lone Star state under the Biden-Harris administration.
“We fought back and showed the world just how welcoming we can be,” Johnson said at a press briefing, per WTTW.
‘DANGEROUS’ MIGRANT IS PERSON OF INTEREST IN SHOOTING DEATH OF 17-YEAR-OLD CHICAGO GIRL
People walk outside a migrant shelter on the Lower West Side in Chicago on March 11. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“The efforts at the Texas border by Republican Governor Greg Abbott were meant to destabilize welcoming cities like Chicago, but the city responded with community care in welcoming nearly 50,000 new arrivals,” the press release states. “The Johnson Administration is proud of the City agencies, community partners and government entities who successfully responded to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.”
Chicago has received more than 50,000 migrants throughout the current crisis, many of them families, according to CBS.
With the city still housing nearly 5,000 people in its migrant shelters, concerns are being raised that there will not be enough beds for migrants once the new system is in place and the sharp Chicago winter bites. But migrants who get into a homeless shelter will no longer face evictions.
Johnson had attempted to raise $100 million by hiking taxes on properties worth more than $1 million in his “Bring Chicago Home” ballot measure, which ultimately failed.
More than 1,000 immigrants crossed the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, last year. Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott bused thousands of migrants to Chicago to deal with the crisis. (John Moore/Getty Images)
The crisis has so far cost Chicago taxpayers nearly $200 million since it began and the city is facing a $982.4 million shortfall in 2025, according to WTTW.
“Instead, we can only encumber what our budget allows,” Johnson said, per WTTV. “But imagine the increase in our capacity if ‘Bring Chicago Home’ had passed.”
“Could this lead to people on the street? Look, I’ll be remiss if I did not acknowledge the financial straits that we are experiencing right now and the impact that that’s going to have on this mission,” Johnson said.
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Milwaukee, WI
Brewers, Salvation Army pack hundreds of lunches for Milwaukee children through Feed the Kids program
MILWAUKEE—- The Milwaukee Brewers and The Salvation Army teamed up Monday to help fight childhood hunger by packing hundreds of lunches for children across Milwaukee County.
Brewers front office staff, volunteers, and community leaders assembled 600 lunches at American Family Field as part of the annual Feed the Kids summer meals program.
Each lunch includes a turkey sandwich with cheese, fruit, vegetables, and milk. The meals will be distributed to children on weekdays through August 21st at six locations throughout Milwaukee County while school is out for the summer. The locations include Salvation Army Citadel Corps, Cold Springs Corps, Tiefenthaler Park, Westlawn Gardens, Salvation Army Distribution Center, and Carver Park. The Salvation Army also reminds attendees that all meals must be eaten on-site in accordance with USDA policy.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, The Salvation Army of Milwaukee County Area Commander Major Beverly Gates, and Brewers players Andrew Vaughn and Chad Patrick joined volunteers during the event.
“While school is out, many children lose access to the meals they depend upon during the school year,” Major Beverly said. “Feed the Kids helps to fill that void, making sure that children have something nutritious to eat and reminding them that they are valued, that they’re important and that they’re supported.”
The Feed the Kids program began in 1990 and has provided more than 2.8 million meals to children facing food insecurity across Milwaukee County.
“I think just the act of making a sandwich may not seem like a lot, but really, for the kids across Milwaukee, it means a ton,” Mayor Johnson said. “For kids in Milwaukee and for kids in cities, the hunger really spikes when they’re no longer in school, when they don’t have, you know, that sort of structured programming around them. So the work that you’re doing today, it may seem pretty simple making a sandwich, but it really goes much farther than that.”
Organizers say the program helps fill the gap for families who rely on school meal programs during the academic year, ensuring children continue to have access to nutritious lunches throughout the summer.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis City Council member Aisha Chughtai taking mental health leave for a month
Minneapolis City Council member Aisha Chughtai said Monday she will be taking a monthlong leave to seek outpatient care for her mental health.
Chughtai said her “office will remain open to continue serving the people of Ward 10,” but she will miss the council meeting on July 16. She plans to return before the July 30 meeting.
“I love representing the people of this Ward. It’s the greatest honor of my life. And that’s why I feel obligated to do so to the best of my abilities,” Chughtai said in a statement. “Because of the current state of my mental health, I fear falling short of that obligation. That’s why I’m briefly stepping back. I fully expect to return energized and ready to give more than ever for the people of Ward 10 and everyone in the city.”
In her statement, Chughtai cited “a high-stakes election … several mass shootings, and a federal occupation” as recent stressors on her mental health.
Chughtai said she has notified the council and Mayor Jacob Frey, and encouraged Ward 10 residents to contact her office via email with any questions or concerns.
“I know that when I return, I’ll be back stronger, ready to form deeper partnerships, and ready to fight even harder for our neighbors,” she said.
Chughtai was first elected in 2021 to represent Ward 10, which includes the south Minneapolis neighborhoods of East Bde Maka Ska, East Isles, Lowry Hill East, South Uptown and Whittier.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress, get help from the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. Trained crisis counselors are available 24 hours a day to talk about anything.
In addition, help is available from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI. Call the NAMI Helpline at 800-950-6264 or text “HelpLine” to 62640. There are more than 600 local NAMI organizations and affiliates across the country, many of which offer free support and education programs.
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