Shortly after the Illinois government halted plans to construct a migrant base camp in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood, Gov. J.B. Pritzker's office released a statement elaborating on the state's decision.
Following the state's call to stop construction on Tuesday, Mayor Brandon Johnson's office released a statement that appeared to attribute blame toward the state for the endeavor's failures.
Pritzker's office claims city officials did not consult with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency or the state before releasing an environmental report on the site.
The full statement can be read below:
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"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."
Next steps for a migrant shelter are still unknown as city and state officials head back to the drawing board, though state officials offered some options.
Few details have been revealed, but the Illinois governor's office said it will expedite previous efforts to launch a brick-and-mortar shelter in the Little Village neighborhood, which will have 200 beds available. The state also requested a list of alternate sites from Chicago and plans to work with the Archdiocese of Chicago to explore more options for brick-and-mortar sites.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson acknowledged alternate locations are being explored, but did not specify which could be a likely backup.
"I've been planning for Plan B, C, and D, and E and F from the very moment that I became the mayor of the city of Chicago. And so whether it's 115th and Halsted, or 38th and California, or any other brick-and-mortar location that we've identified, that can serve the purpose of this mission, know that my administration is planning ahead," he said.
The mayor said despite the setback, his "mission is still very much alive."
"I've said from the very beginning, especially as winter is approaching and weather is shifting, is to get people out of police stations — women, children sleeping on the floors, those who are sleeping outside — to remove people from police districts. And we've we've been doing that work," he said.
The decision to move away from the Brighton Park plans comes just after Pritzker's administration temporarily halted construction at the site, located at 38th and California, to further review an 800-page environmental assessment, which revealed levels of mercury and other contaminants in the soil that exceeded environmental limits.
“My administration is committed to keeping asylum seekers safe as we work to help them achieve independence,” Pritzker said in a statement. “We will not proceed with housing families on a site where serious environmental concerns are still present. My administration remains committed to a data-driven plan to improve the asylum seeker response and we will continue to coordinate with the City of Chicago as we work to expand available shelter through winter.”
According to the state, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency cited "concerns related to insufficient soil sampling and remediation."
“IEPA would not approve the proposed Brighton Park site for residential use, based on our regulatory standards for remediation of contaminated properties,” Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim said in a statement. “The well-being of residents and workers at the site is our highest priority, and current and planned site conditions do not adequately reduce risks of human exposure to known and potential environmental conditions.”
Johnson said "discovering toxicity [at the site] wasn't a surprise], but said "the contract that the state of Illinois went into with Gardaworld, as they continued to build out on this site, there was no indication throughout this entire process, that a standard or a different methodology was preferable by the state of Illinois."
“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.
The Brighton Park base camp location was designed to temporarily house up to 2,000 migrants. The city wanted them removed from sleeping in airports or outside Chicago police stations as winter arrives.
The 800-page environmental report, compiled by the city’s contractor, Terracon Consultants, revealed that levels of mercury, lead, arsenic and other toxic substance were found in the soil. Additional remediation efforts were planned through Dec. 8, the report says. A map included in the report reveals that the mercury was discovered near an area labeled as “Sleep 1” — where one of two large tent-like structures were erected last week.
The contaminated soil was removed and disposed of at the Laraway Landfill and contractors placed six inches of gravel on top to mitigate any exposure the soil.
The City of Chicago paid Terracon Consultants $50,000 to conduct the environmental assessment report.
It also inked a land use agreement that could’ve put Chicago taxpayers on the hook for up to $548,000. But there is language in the contract that allows the city to get out of the deal if the land is deemed to be not suitable for its intended use.
When asked if the City of Chicago intends to get out of this agreement, a spokesman for the mayor said that is under review.
When asked about who will foot the bill for the current construction costs thus far, the spokesman said the costs would go to the state.
Another migrant site location near 115th and Halsted is still under review, according to spokesman Ronnie Reese.
