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* Chicago’s Deputy Mayor for Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights Beatriz Ponce De León was at the City Club of Chicago yesterday…
Q: What is the ETA on the base camps? It’s clearly really cold out today, for example.
BPDL: Yeah, well, we have several locations that we’re interested in, they need to be assessed, we need to work with the aldermanic offices of those wards. And, you know, things are taking a little longer than we expected in terms of doing the land assessments and also engaging with community about about those sites.
Q: I mean, are you thinking a couple of weeks, a month? Because I’m wondering if they aren’t set up, what’s the backup plan?
BPDL: Ideally, it would be in the next month. And the backup plan has been that we will continue to look for larger spaces where we can open shelters more quickly.
“Ideally.” In other words, that’s the best case scenario.
* The city rolled out this plan way back on September 7, which is coming up on two months ago…
Nearly 1,600 asylum-seekers would be moved out of Chicago police stations “before the weather begins to shift and change” and into “winterized base camps” equipped with massive tents, under a plan unveiled Thursday by Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Um, the weather has already shifted.
* Also remember that the city signed a contract on September 12…
Chicago has taken the first concrete step to deliver on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s controversial plan to get more than 2,000 migrants off the floors of police stations and O’Hare and Midway airports and into giant tent cities he prefers to call “winterized base camps” before temperatures plummet.
Piggybacking onto an existing state procurement, the city has signed a $29.3 million contract with GardaWorld Federal Services LLC for “migrant temporary housing.”
“The purpose of this Purchase Order is to allow the City to purchase from the State Contract temporary housing solutions and related services … to provide critical services to asylum seekers,” according to the contract, signed Sept. 12.
Kafkaesque farce.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 3:09 pm
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I’m in the office today working just West of the Loop. 15 minutes ago I could hear the snow hitting the window like a drum solo which just makes the Deputy Mayor’s statement an admittance of great incompetence by the administration. Sheesh!
Comment by levivotedforjudy Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 3:18 pm
Next month????? (assume these are banned punctuation marks) WT….
Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 3:29 pm
By next month does she mean December? Doesn’t seem to be much urgency or back up plans
Comment by DuPage Saint Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 3:30 pm
When you’ve been a rock thrower your whole career, governing is not in your wheel house.
Comment by NotRich Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 3:33 pm
Absolute failure. Had all summer to deal with the migrant issue. Could they have expected the influx, maybe/maybe not-clearly they did not. If you’re prepared for the worst and it doesn’t happen you’re in good shape. When you have no preparation whatsoever you look like this.
You’re telling me there isn’t one city-owned piece of property large enough to put a tent up in? If it’s their property they don’t need aldermanic approval or anything just build it.
Comment by Frida's boss Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 3:35 pm
Winners make policy.
Ok, so what’s the policy?
We’re beyond dealing with fixing the leak, it’s time to look at the situation and have a plan that looks at the whole plumbing, actually beyond time.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 3:36 pm
===You’re telling me there isn’t one city-owned piece of property large enough to put a tent up in? If it’s their property they don’t need aldermanic approval===
Tell me you’ve never dealt with Chicago City Hall without telling me you’ve never dealt with Chicago City Hall.
Explain Aldermanic Prerogative. Mayors going around Alderpersons… whew.
If it were easy…
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 3:41 pm
Climbs back to 57 degrees shortly. We may find our way out of this through climate change.
Comment by de Gaulle Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 3:43 pm
Fire the press lead. Fire Beatriz. Complete and total unpreparedness.
Comment by AAA Minors Not Pros Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 3:45 pm
Total clown show ridiculous. People make fun of Daleyites, but something tells me the many competent people who worked in the Daley administration would have had a better handle on this.
Comment by low level Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 3:46 pm
===If it were easy… ===
He has a gubernatorial disaster declaration that strips away a heckuva lot of red tape.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 3:46 pm
To be even clearer, to tie it all in one thought, while also fully accepting and realizing “if it were easy”;
The mayor needs (needed, geez) to formulate a workable plan that addresses the needs of human beings that also includes safety, shelter, health, and nutrition… have it where the impact and imagery shows Chicago “capable and in charge”, not dealing or coping but actively working through thoughtful steps.
Get alderpersons on board. Gotta get buy in, gotta get a united front as best you can with all the allies you can muster. Show strength in the unity. Show the power of unity to the plan.
Keep running tabs. Put deep pressure on DC, enjoin with the state, call on DC to more funding by not complaining… but actually and literally “bring receipts”
I mean… do I need to email these guys?! When I have at least thoughts and they have none… c’mon, show us something.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 3:51 pm
===He has a gubernatorial disaster declaration that strips away a heckuva lot of red tape.===
Welp, it’s yet another (and another, and another) example of failure to lead, which leads to failure… no infrastructure in place to even implement a non-existing plan? Welp…
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 3:53 pm
== Mayors going around Alderpersons ==
This one is trying his hardest to go around them and is quickly learning the consequences.
(I’m agreeing with your point by the way, just funny to see Brandon and Co. learning in real time)
Comment by wowie Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 3:53 pm
This might be worth screen shotting, but:
I fully, 100% agree with OW.
Comment by JP Altgeld Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 3:58 pm
3 weeks without a press gaggle. Thank god mayor BJ wasn’t in there during COVID.
Comment by DisappointedVoter Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 4:05 pm
Here’s the best advice I can give the mayor … find a former Marine Master Sargent among your supporters, put him in charge of housing the migrants, give him a realistic budget, back him 100% with no second guessing, and get out of his way. It may not be pretty, but it will get fixed or they will die trying …
Comment by RNUG Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 4:10 pm
Top to bottom failure on the government side but especially on the top. Thank God for the mutual aid workers who are currently advocating for police to let people inside stations to warm up.
Comment by Sonny Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 4:20 pm
If only Brandon Johnson kept Dr. Allison Arcady as Commissioner of Public Health instead of removing her, he would have a staff person with experience in disease control, environmental health, emergency preparedness, and behavioral health.
Her credentials include a bachelor’s degree from Harvard, a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University. Also, Dr. Arwady completed medical school at Yale University. She is also a board certified physician and pediatrician.
Yet, Brandon Johnson failed to realize her level of expertise and summarily dismissed her from the position.
Comment by Rudy’s teeth Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 4:21 pm
OW, you have mentioned skill sets that clearly are beyond this administration. Jason Lee, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, Beatriz Ponce De León and finally the mayor himself, all clueless.
Comment by low level Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 4:23 pm
- low level -
If a person like me can see this, I mean, I can’t believe the lacking.
- JP Altgeld -
I may screen shot your comment, appreciate your take, my hope is as always if I see it, odds are someone already knows, and knows better.
Be well, you both.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 4:30 pm
===Arwady===
lol
Where in the heck did that suggestion come from?
This proves my theory that crises bring out the pet peeves in everyone.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 4:41 pm
===Arwady===
Yeah… I don’t think that’s in any mix I’d suggest.
Nope.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 4:47 pm
===Kafkaesque farce.===
I am but the lowliest gatekeeper.
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Tuesday, Oct 31, 23 @ 6:47 pm
They have to look at the root causes first before acting.
Comment by Here for the comments Wednesday, Nov 1, 23 @ 6:04 am
=== When you’ve been a rock thrower your whole career, governing is not in your wheel house.===
The problem isn’t that Johnson has been a rock thrower, the problem is he’s never been a rock thrower. Sometimes the job requires making allies dislike you. As soon as the city procures a building for the migrants, the alderman has a hissy fit and the mayor backs down. The mayor is already powerless when it comes to what Abbott does or what Pritzker does. He has to take whatever little power he has, and unfortunately that might mean eating lunch by himself.
Comment by 17% Solution Wednesday, Nov 1, 23 @ 7:54 am