Pritzker Pledges $182 Million More to Migrant Crisis If Legislature Approves
Gov. JB Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle are pledging more money to Chicago’s migrant crisis. But Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is not making the same promises.
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Governor JB Pritzker’s administration announced Thursday it is pledging another $182 million from the state to help alleviate Chicago’s ongoing migrant crisis.
But, there’s a catch: the money isn’t actually available yet. The expense will be part of the Governor’s upcoming FY25 budget proposal to the General Assembly. The new state budget takes effect July 1 and the funds would need to be appropriated by a legislature dealing with a projected budget deficit of nearly $1 billion.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is pledging another $70 million from Cook County government.
Missing from the deal? The City of Chicago.
According to the Sun-Times, when asked why the city was not part of the funding agreement, Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said cost projections were made in collaboration with the county and city, with both Pritzker and Preckwinkle agreeing to ask for more money.
“You will have to ask the city what their plans are for the remaining $70 million that all parties have agreed is needed to fund this humanitarian response,” Abudayyeh said in a statement to the Sun-Times.
“With thousands of asylum seekers continuing to come to Chicago in desperate need of support and with Congress continuing to refuse to act—it is clear the state, county, and city will have to do more to keep people safe,” Pritzker said in a statement. “I’m thankful to President Preckwinkle for working with us to help close this budget gap and maintain critical services in the year ahead.”
Numerous sources say Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson had promised to match Preckwinkle’s $70 million at a meeting between the three last week, but the money hasn’t materialized.
According to NBC Chicago, Johnson demurred on the reports.
“I don’t know where the disagreement really exists here, the commitment to the mission is what we’re all in agreement here,” he said at a news conference. “There’s a number of matters that need to be worked through.”