Mayor Brandon Johnson went on the defensive Wednesday on his handling of the Chicago migrant crisis.
“I know folks may question my style, but don’t question my leadership,” he said.
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With the lack of funds to open any new city shelters, Johnson would not say whether he would extend the February 1 deadline that evicts migrants from shelters after 60 days.
“We are going to work really hard to look at options we have so no one has to be out on the street,” Johnson said.
Earlier this week, Governor JB Pritzker said he is very concerned about the lack of new shelters for migrants in Chicago. The state has allocated an extra $180 million to help, but the governor said he’s waiting on the city for a plan.
“The city has not told the state where they would like us to put our resources to build new shelters or help them build new shelters, so we can’t help if we can’t identify those locations,” Pritzker said.
Johnson said the city has given the state several shelter location sites and the mayor reminded the governor the state could use the money to build a shelter anywhere.