In response to the fallout over the now-rejected Brighton Park base camp site for migrants, three Chicago aldermen have called for the resignation of seven officials from Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration.
The letter – signed by aldermen Anthony Beale, Ray Lopez and Anthony Napolitano – said the city needs “individuals who are serious, deliberative and collaborative in addressing the ongoing migrant asylum-seeker crisis…” and that “What we have seen in Brighton Park, however, does not show members of your administration as being either serious, deliberative or collaborative in addressing this issue.”
The request was rejected by the mayor’s office, which issued a statement that said the aldermen’s correspondence was “not serious.”
The full statement read:
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“This is not serious correspondence, yet the individuals it attacks are doing very serious work in addressing the urgency of a humanitarian crisis that has brought nearly 25,000 new arrivals to our city. Between November and December of 2022, eight buses of asylum seekers arrived in Chicago. From November 1, 2023, to today, December 6, 2023, Chicago has received 102 buses of asylum seekers. From 8 to 102. Our administration remains focused on housing and providing resources for new arrivals, as well as unhoused Chicagoans and residents, who, for generations, have experienced neglect and disinvestment in our city. We will continue collaborating with anyone taking this work seriously.”
During a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Ald. Lopez responded to the mayor’s office statement, saying:
“The mayor choosing to dismiss our request shows just how stubborn he is on remaining true to a lost cause,” he said.
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Lopez and Beale said that they would like to hold hearings following the fallout of what happened at Brighton Park.
Citing concerns over contamination, Governor J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday the state would not proceed with using the Brighton Park location as a base camp from migrants.
An 800-page environmental assessment report published late Friday by the City of Chicago revealed that toxic metals and other contaminants including mercury had been located on the soil of the property near 38th and California.
While an accompanying statement from the City of Chicago said that the contaminated soil had been removed and disposed of at an off-site location, the Illinois EPA found that both the testing methods and the remediation efforts were “insufficient.”
Mayor Johnson took questions from reporters Tuesday, appearing to attribute blame toward the state.
“The state did not provide any additional guidelines or any sort of methodology in which they were requiring us to go by. So we use the standards that were available to us, the site has been substantiated as being safe by third party validators,” Johnson said.
In response, Governor Pritzker’s spokeswoman issued a statement Wednesday saying that the City of Chicago did not use IEPA standards even though they “are clear and known."
“IEPA standards on sampling and remediation are clear and known to the City. Those are not the standards the City chose to use. The City did not engage with IEPA or the State before releasing the report and when it did release the report, was unable to explain the lesser standards they did choose to use and how they arrived at those standards. We understand that the City selected this site and holds the lease and is therefore frustrated it cannot move forward. The State shares that frustration. But while the City might be comfortable placing asylum seekers on a site where toxins are present without a full understanding of whether it is safe, the State is not. This site will not move forward as a shelter with State involvement.”
In October, the city inked a six-month land use agreement with the Barnacres Corporation to use the land at the Brighton Park site.
The deal could’ve put the city on the hook for lease payments that cost upwards of $548,000.
The mayor’s office initially said the City of Chicago could get out of the deal if the land was not fit to be used. But when NBC 5 Investigates asked about that on Wednesday, a spokesman for Mayor Johnson said there was no update and it was still being reviewed. We also reached out to the landowner earlier this week. A person who answered the phone hung up when we asked for comment.
It's not clear where the next base camp site could be located. One area under consideration is 115th and Halsted. Ald. Beale said he has asked the Johnson administration to halt any construction there until an environmental assessment can be completed there.
