Pritzker Issues Emergency Declaration To Assist Migrants Coming To IL

ILLINOIS — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued an emergency disaster proclamation on Wednesday that unlocks resources to ensure that asylum seekers arriving daily to Illinois from Texas are supported.

Pritzker also announced the activation of about 75 Illinois National Guard members who will assist with the arrival of these migrants from the southern border. The governor’s proclamation enables state agencies including the Illinois Emergency Management Agency along with other departments to work with officials from the City of Chicago, Cook County, and other local governments to make sure families arriving from Texas have the support they need as they arrive in Illinois.

The support includes transportation, shelter, food, health screenings, medical assessments and treatment, and other services to help with their transition to a new place, the governor’s office said Wednesday.

In a news conference on Wednesday, Pritzker said this is not the time to demonize human beings, but instead, to live up to our values and "follow the moral compass that makes this one of the greatest states in the nation."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Aug. 31 that he would send migrants to northern ‘sanctuary cities, including Chicago. Media reports have indicated that Abbott’s program has cost Texas an estimated $12.7 million.

Illinois Department of Human Services Secretary Grace Hou said at Wednesday's news conference that an 11th bus carrying refugees arrived in Chicago early on Wednesday. The new arrivals brings the total number of migrants that have come to Illinois this month to more than 500.

"I have said to our team, we live in a state where our leaders are committed to providing a dignified welcome to our state," Hou said at the news conference. "That is not the question. The question is how we do it when the process is intentionally designed to cause confusion and utter chaos."

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said that the city is working to find shelter and other services to help the migrants arriving from Texas. However, buses of migrants were sent to Burr Ridge and Elk Grove Village in a move that the mayors of each municipality said they were unaware of.

Lightfoot said Wednesday that the federal government needs to step up to help provide support for cities like Chicago in welcoming the migrants. She said that the city only has so many resources to offer and that collaboration from the federal government had to come "in short order."

On Monday, Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso said that he does not expect any more migrants to arrive in the village after 64 Venezeulean asylum-seekers who were originally bound for Chicago ended up in Burr Ridge instead.

Grasso said that the migrants would be assigned to a local hotel for no more than 30 days, but that the children of those arriving from the south can attend school locally.

In Elk Grove Village, 90 migrants arrived on buses in a move that forced local officials "to scramble." The migrants will be staying at a local hotel indefinitely while village officials work with the state to find them more permanent housing.

Local officials said that they weren't informed until late last week that the migrants would be coming, and then sent a robocall to local residents alerting them that the buses would be arriving.

Pritzker said Wednesday that state and local officials will work together to assist these families as they continue to arrive. While the governor and other officials expect there to be a time of transition as more asylum-seekers arrive, he said in the news conference that the plan is to help as many migrants as possible as they seek a new life.

“The result of moving asylum seekers from Texas to Democrat-run cities means there is a much, much higher chance they win asylum,” Pritzker said.

He added: “Governor Abbott decided he wanted to wash his hands clean of humanity. I don’t want to talk about Texas because the reality is, I’m very proud to be from Illinois.”