Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration is turning its focus to resettling asylum-seekers amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis that’s seen thousands of new arrivals since last August.
As it looks to eventually find more permanent solutions than the police station lobbies and large congregate shelters that have housed migrants in recent months, the city is preparing to seek proposals for a community-based model that could also cut down on current high costs of contractual shelter staff, Johnson deputy chief of staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas told the Tribune.
The city is also eyeing a $25 million expenditure, with state assistance, to provide six months of rental assistance for more than 6,500 migrants, plus $15 million to fight homelessness. But she emphasized that the city’s plans in collaboration with the county and state remain fluid as the administration struggles to build capacity to provide immediate support for the migrants arriving in Chicago daily.
