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Burr Ridge mayor fires back at Lightfoot, Pritzker after migrants were secretly bussed to his village

By Amy Nelson
Published  September 12, 2022 10:26am CDT
Burr Ridge
FOX News

CHICAGO - A suburban Illinois mayor called out Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot after more than 60 migrants were bussed to his town and checked into a hotel without his knowledge.

Lightfoot previously criticized the bussing of migrants around the country from Texas. On Monday, Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso called out her hypocrisy.

The governor’s office, however, took aim at local officials who have spoken out about the relocation of migrants, suggesting the complaints were xenophobic.

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"It is interesting that local officials are choosing this specific instance to gripe to the press about. Governor Pritzker has made it clear that Illinois is a welcoming state and xenophobia has no home here," the statement read.

Grasso said on "Fox & Friends" Monday that he took offense to being labeled "xenophobic." The town is about 20 miles out of Chicago.

Pritzker issues disaster proclamation, activates National Guard to assist incoming migrants

Gov. Pritzker announced Wednesday that he is issuing a disaster proclamation to assist asylum seekers.

"This has nothing again to do with xenophobia," Grasso (R) told host Steve Doocy. "It’s not about the migrants."

"It's about the very thing that Lori Lightfoot complained about and not giving us a heads-up so we could be prepared, so we can tell our residents."

Grasso’s residents had many questions about safety and health concerns.

"It's just the arrogance of the state, just presuming they can do what they want," he said. "They invite people to come to the state, and then they just willy-nilly put them in the suburbs without even giving us the courtesy of letting us know."

Chicago buses migrants to Burr Ridge, mayor 'unhappy' village wasn't notified

While Mayor Gary Grasso said he will continue to welcome migrants in Burr Ridge with open arms, he said he would have appreciated a heads up that they'd be coming.

Grasso said he’s not sure who made the decision to send migrants to the suburbs, but he conceded that they are safer in his community than somewhere like Chicago.

He reiterated that the migrants themselves are not a problem. He said he’s working on ways to get their children in schools and looking for possible employment opportunities as he’s unsure of how long they will stay in Burr Ridge.

"There's no issue with them at all," he said. "They're here legally, supposedly, because they are asylum seekers, which I understand just means that they're here temporarily until they go through the process."

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