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* Viral infections have shot up among children across the country. The shelter in question was supposed to hold 1,000 people, but more than twice that many are housed there now, possibly creating what we called during the pandemic a super-spreader environment. The city has emptied the police stations, but in doing so may have created a new problem by packing humans into shelters like sardines…
The boy died yesterday. His lips were purple when his parents sought help. Favorite Staffing workers told them, roughly, "It's probably because of the cold," per police.
Today, Chicago Fire hospitalized 5 more migrant shelter residents with fevers. Ages 1, 4, 8, 9 & 18. https://t.co/YukkAXt38l
— Jake Sheridan (@JakeSheridan_) December 18, 2023
* Tribune…
Abhishek Dhar, a physician who helped migrants staying at police stations, said he is concerned about migrants living in close quarters contracting communicable diseases. Many migrants at the stations didn’t know the appropriate procedures for calling an ambulance or seeking medical care, he said. […]
The boy’s parents said their son had been sick for the past two to three days with a fever and was complaining of pain in his left leg. The day before he died, he took children’s Tylenol and a pill believed to be ibuprofen, according to a police report obtained by the Tribune.
Police said on Sunday morning he woke up hungry, and his family went out to beg for money. Juan Carlos complained that he wanted to go back to the shelter because he wasn’t feeling well. His father gave him electrolytes, and noticed he had vomited.
Juan Carlos’ lips turned purple when his family returned to the shelter, the report said. His father went upstairs to request an ambulance. Family members later told police that staff said the discoloration was “probably because of the cold,” the report said.
Go read the rest. Lots of disturbing details.
* Sun-Times…
The shelter is a converted warehouse that opened in early October and has since become the most crowded shelter in the city, holding more than 2,000 people.
It is run by Favorite Healthcare Staffing, a Kansas-based contractor the city has awarded close to $100 million to run shelters since September 2022, shortly after the first buses carrying migrants began arriving.
[Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford] said the fire department sent a district chief to the shelter Monday “to see what’s happening,” and is awaiting his report.
* Press release…
Today, Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03) released the following statement after a 5-year-old boy died on Sunday after becoming ill at a shelter for migrants in Chicago.
“The death of 5-year-old Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero is unacceptable and devastating. My heart and prayers are with his family. It is heartbreaking that substandard care, under-resourcing, and years of political inaction continue to steal bright futures and rob families and our communities of possibilities.
“Every shelter should be a safe, healthy space for families. Any facility that falls short of fulfilling that responsibility must be held accountable. I have spoken with the City of Chicago and we agree there must be a full investigation into whether Favorite Staffing can fulfill the important responsibility of providing safe and adequate temporary shelter for migrants and asylum seekers.
The Federal Government, including leadership at the Department of Homeland Security and the Administration, must grapple with the deadly consequences of inaction. The insufficient funding for cities like Chicago, which are actually welcoming and supporting asylum seekers, puts children at risk. Instead of negotiating and doubling down on ineffective draconian, Trump-era border policies, we must work together to secure adequate resources, improve intergovernmental cooperation, and expedite work permits for all. We all have a responsibility to ensure this never happens again, and we can and must do better.”
* The mayor’s response was mainly deflection and devoid of empathy for the dead child…
When asked about the situation, Johnson said that the matter is being complicated by the actions of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whose busing program has led to nearly 26,000 asylum seekers being transported to Chicago.
“They’re showing up sick,” he said. “The issue is not just how we respond in the city of Chicago. It’s the fact we have a governor, an elected official in the state of Texas, that is placing families on buses without shoes, cold, wet, tired, hungry, afraid, traumatized, and then they come to the city of Chicago, where we have homelessness, mental health clinics that have been shut down and closed. We have people who are seeking employment. The governor of Texas needs to take a look in the mirror, with the chaos he’s causing for the people of this country.”
I mean, I get the mayor’s frustration, but at some point you have to start figuring this out.
* Meanwhile…
The site at 115th and Halsted streets set to become a so-called “winterized base camp” for migrants may be contaminated with pollutants from an underground fuel oil tank as well as from a defunct dry cleaners and a shuttered gas station, according to an environmental study released Monday by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office.
The report from Lisle-based A3E Consulting, dated Oct. 31, recommends “additional investigation” of the 6.5 acres of land surrounding a vacant Jewel-Osco grocery store on the border between Morgan Park and West Roseland once known as the Halsted Indoor Mall before it is used to shelter migrants. […]
[21st Ward Ald. Ronnie Mosley] said he was confused about why he just saw the environmental study Monday, if it was completed by the end of October.
*Sigh*
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Dec 18, 23 @ 6:18 pm
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Mayors own too, Brandon.
Comment by Roadrager Monday, Dec 18, 23 @ 6:37 pm
It’s the mayors job to lead. Crises like this are opportunities to push change and bring unity. Instead he is defensive and leaves us wondering what the city is actually going to do to prevent further deaths.
A competent comms team has never been more important for this administration. Unfortunately this is example #46264537284622.
Comment by DisappointedVoter Monday, Dec 18, 23 @ 6:48 pm
They may have indeed traded problems, but I wonder if we wouldn’t be looking at deaths from cold weather had they remained in those “camping tent cities” I saw outside police stations (or would have huddled inside in similarly crowded spaces). It’s below freezing as I type this.
Comment by lake county democrat Monday, Dec 18, 23 @ 7:00 pm
I am having a hard time understanding how the US as a country was able to handle the Post WWII immigration but now is struggling with the immigration from the south. From 1941 to 1950, 1,035,000 people immigrated to the U.S mostly from war torn Europe including my parents.
No matter if these new immigrants are being bussed in by Texas Gov. Abbott or not, they are humans and deserve humane treatment and not be treated like cattle. We are better than this or at least we used to be.
Comment by Big Jer Monday, Dec 18, 23 @ 7:01 pm
=== able to handle the Post WWII immigration===
Because they were allowed to work.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Dec 18, 23 @ 7:08 pm
A better Comms team can’t help these migrants. We don’t need better lip service. These poor people need action, and theJohnson administration lacks the motivation, and expertise to address this crisis. This guy has been “deer in the headlights” since coming into office, and is proving to be toatilly inadequate to the task at hand.
Comment by PublicServant Monday, Dec 18, 23 @ 7:15 pm
Someone needs to tell Mayor “I just got here (exclamation point)” Brandon this is growing tiresome
Comment by Jocko Monday, Dec 18, 23 @ 7:31 pm
What about the police and their health having to work directly in the same building as the asylum seekers. They are very likely to get the same communicable diseases that the physician was talking about.
Ultimately the city has a legal responsibility to keep its employees safe. They have families too who could be impacted by those diseases.
It feel it would be nice to see the city and state at least acknowledge the impact on the health of the public workers dealing with this as well.
Comment by The Dude Monday, Dec 18, 23 @ 7:43 pm
===Because they were allowed to work. ===
This highlights the extent to which this is a federal problem. Asylum seekers are literally barred from working in order to be able claim asylum.
The City and the State could be doing a lot of things better, but ultimately this entire situation is a failure of the federal government.
I think an avenue we should consider at this point is examining the civil or criminal liability of the people involved in abandoning immigrants in a climate like Chicago with the current weather conditions. This isn’t a “buyer beware” situation. The people responsible for arranging the buses know the people who are boarding the buses are not prepared for winter weather.
The mayor has a point — but it isn’t a good point.
People have been dying of exposure during the winter in the City of Chicago for as long as there has been a City of Chicago. A complete or permanent solution to that problem is something the People of Chicago have never thought was important enough to address. This year the victims of our turning away are much more visible and harder to ignore.
But Brandon Johnson isn’t doing himself any favors because we’d rather talk about what a crap job he is doing than actually examine what’s going on here isn’t a new problem. It’s just Version G.O.P.
Comment by Candy Dogood Tuesday, Dec 19, 23 @ 12:02 am
I read a lot of folks bending logic to defend Mayor Johnson. I have no idea why this sort of defense is needed. His comms team should have told him [yesterday] to state something filled with regret and empathy, and say that issues at the shelter are being reviewed and changes will happen today [Monday] and in the next few days.
The main issue is the vendor who is running the shelter. The asylum seekers told the vendor’s staff about something with their kid, and the staff did not try to help them out.
Second thing is that there needs to be a regular bus or minivan that goes to either a nearby Cook County clinic or the Cook County hospital, and a manner to call for an ambulance to take someone directly to the Cook County hospital’s ER. Asylum seekers should be able to see the staff at a certain facility either once every month or once every two weeks, or the same day if there is a health emergency.
Third, what the vendor is giving the residents for food and water, and how they are being treated by staff needs to improve.
Fourth, if there is a way to fix up any problems in that building, a certain number of folks may need to to leave the building and repairs made. If children are going to a local school for classes, perhaps adults who are able to make the transition may need to relocate.
Comment by Chicagoan Tuesday, Dec 19, 23 @ 4:24 pm