Monday, September 26, 2022

Evanston , Illinois preparing to house migrants bused from Texas

Evanston Roundtable reports:

Earlier this month, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office and the Illinois Department of Human Services held conversations with Evanston leaders about housing some of the more than 1,000 refugees that have been bused to Illinois, according to City Manager Luke Stowe.

At the moment, Evanston’s shelters are full and most hotels are booked with Northwestern football games and other events coming up this fall, Stowe said. So no arrangements have yet been set.

But Illinois officials, including Pritzker, expect more migrants to arrive in the coming days and weeks, and the state is looking for Chicago and surrounding suburbs to help provide food, clothing and shelter until these people have a chance to get on their feet and find more permanent housing.

“We’ve had multiple discussions with the Governor’s office and IDHS in September about whether Evanston could help house migrants,” Stowe told the RoundTable. “One of the challenges is that the request is typically for 60 to 90 days of housing, which is difficult for our hotel partners due to Northwestern events and demand for hotel rooms. We are not currently housing any migrants, but we expect future requests and are preparing for it.”

Progressive professors at Northwestern can now be close to asylum seekers.