SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) – Lawmakers returned to Springfield Tuesday for the start of session and how to pay for the surge of migrants coming to the state is at the top of the to-do-list.
It comes as Governor J.B. Pritzker sent a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott Friday begging Abbott not to send more migrants to Chicago because of the cold weather.
“While action is pending at the federal level, I plead with you for mercy for the thousands of people who are powerless to speak for themselves,” Pritzker’s letter to Abbott reads. “Please, while winter is threatening vulnerable people’s lives, suspend your transports and do not send more people to our state.”
Since 2022, more than 38,000 people have come to Chicago from the southern border. As more migrants arrive, Governor J.B. Pritzker said he talked to lawmakers about setting aside more money on top of the $160 million additional dollars the state invested to help deal with the crisis. The governor announced Tuesday that $17 million of the $160 million will go towards building capacity in areas outside of Chicago that are helping migrants.
“I do think it’s going to be important to deal with the costs here that are rising all the time, or at least the toll is rising, and we’re all working together to try to meet the demand,” Pritzker said in a press conference Jan. 10.
House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch (D-Westchester) didn’t specify what any plan would look like, but agreed some action will likely be taken.
“We care about people, we have to address it in some way, but it has to also take into consideration those that have been here and what’s going on and be very inclusive about our approach,” Welch said. “What that ultimate approach is, I don’t know what it’s going to be yet. But it’s going to definitely come after we’ve had some collaborative conversations.”
Still, Democrats like State Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) are raising concerns.
“I think the crisis needs to be looked at in a larger scope, not just attempting to consistently fund the ongoing arrivals,” Ammons said. “There is no way for us to continue to do this without some kind of checks and balances.”
She worries that the state will not put enough resources into other communities, like the African American community, that have also been struggling with little help from the state.
“We are still calling for equity and justice in our community, and so that cannot be ignored by either Democrats or Republicans on this issue, as we try to grapple with what do we do in a limited state budget,” Ammons said. “That has to be taken into consideration, that there are communities that have not received the supports that they should have received.”
Some Republicans say the state needs to end programs like the non citizen health care program and other laws on the books to dissuade migrants from coming to Illinois in the first place.
“Then we will help them either go to a state that is willing to offer those programs, or go back to the country of their origin if they would like to do that,” State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley) said.
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January 16, 2024 at 10:30PM
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