Pritzker Halts Construction On Brighton Park Migrant Shelter

CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has halted construction at a migrant shelter area in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood pending an environmental study after an 800-page report released by the City of Chicago on Friday found there to be toxic materials at the site.

Neighborhood residents and Brighton Park’s alderperson have been vocal in their opposition to the site, which is expected to house up to 2,000 migrants during the winter months. On Friday, the city released the lengthy report, which showed dangerous levels of hazardous materials and other toxic chemicals were present.

Construction had started on the site last week despite environmental concerns. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said that work could begin at the site, claiming that concerns over the soil had already been addressed enough for the work to begin. In a statement issued last week, the city said that mercury that had been detected in the soil had been disposed of and that other areas of the space that had been found to include mercury had been excavated.

“Soil with mercury levels was identified at one location and was removed and properly disposed offsite at a landfill, and with the limited soil removal and placement and maintenance of the barrier, the site is safe for temporary residential use,” Johnson’s office said in a news release that was released on Monday that also said that construction and remediation work had stopped.

“There is no construction or remediation scheduled at this time,” the statement read. “

The release said that the city will share an assessment of subsequent remediation as it becomes available.

The state had pledged $65 million in funding for the site, which is being built to provide shelter and other services to asylum-seekers who had previously been staying outside of Chicago police departments and other sites.

However, with winter fast approaching and colder temperatures soon to move in, officials had said that the Brighton Park site would be used to house migrants during the colder months.

The governor’s office said that the pause is intended to allow Pritzker time to review the 800-page report and to meet with officials from the Environmental Protection Agency. According to reports, that meeting was slated to take place on Monday.

Ald. Julia Ramirez had previously stated that there had been a lack of communication with Johnson's office and claimed there had been a lack of transparency on the mayor's part. She said she had concerns about work beginning on the migrant site as long as the environmental concerns were in place.

“Let me be clear: I am opposed to the construction of this site, especially as the full environmental impact study results have not been shared with my office or the community,” Ramirez wrote in a letter to residents that was posted on social media last week. “We have been made aware that toxic metals are present in the soil and although remediation has been done, after a history of bad communication and lack of transparency from the city, this is not enough to ensure the safety and health of the new arrivals expected to live on this site.