CHICAGO – Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration has – for the third time -- postponed the enforcement of its 60-day shelter stay policy, which is designed to limit how long migrants can stay in city-run shelters.
His announcement comes just days before more than 2,000 migrants were set to be evicted from their shelters.
In a news release issued two hours after his news conference, the Johnson said administration said in part:
“The 60-day shelter stay limit was announced in the wake of the State’s announcement of increased investment in resettlement services and case management. Due to the delay in fully staffing case managers at every shelter, shelter stay limits have been extended by 60 days for the 5,673 individuals who were originally scheduled to exit shelter on January 16th. The new exit date for this group will be 60 days from their original exit date. For the 2,119 residents who were scheduled to exit shelter between March 1st and March 28th, their new exit dates will be extended by 30 days from their originally planned exit date. Any new shelter residents will receive a 60-day notice upon entering the shelter system,” the news release said.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
But it’s clear cost is also a factor.
Johnson told reporters that the migrant crisis is costing the City of Chicago $1.5 million a day. At that rate, the city will have spent the $150 million it budgeted for migrants by mid-April.
When asked if it was the money that was driving this decision to restrict the time migrants can stay in the city’s shelters, the mayor cited the need for stewardship.
Local
“What’s driving it is that we want to make sure that we are doing our due diligence to be responsible stewards of our resources," he said.
The city’s online spending portal shows since 2022 the city has already spent $156 million on the migrant crisis. Roughly 35,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since August 2022, according to the City of Chicago’s data, with more than 14,000 staying in one of 28 temporary shelters.
Johnson’s decision to extend the city’ 60-day shelter limit for migrants comes just days after a group of aldermen sent a letter to the mayor calling on the city to rescind the policy -- noting that they had “grave concerns” about the impact of the shelter stay limit would have on people who are relying on shelters for their continued safety.
Johnson side-stepped a reporter’s question toward the end of Monday’s news conference when asked what influence the letter had on his decision to postpone its enforcement.
He did say his administration needs to be “flexible and nimble” when it comes to the migrant mission.
