Chicago mayor seeks $70M boost for migrant mission amid budget concerns

CHICAGO - Despite millions of taxpayer dollars already invested in the City of Chicago's migrant mission for 2024, the mayor is now asking council members to approve even more.

The city initially allocated $150 million for the migrant mission this year, but now, the mayor is looking for $70 million more. 

This week, council members said they were briefed by various department leaders on the request and the current status of the new arrivals mission. 

In a statement, the mayor's office says the money would be used to care for the 10,000 migrants living in the city's shelter system, with the population expected to increase this summer. 

Alderman Nicholas Sposato, who represents the 38th Ward, says the report explaining the request was more than 40 pages long, but council members were not provided with a copy to review. 

On Monday, the budget committee, which Sposato is a member of, will take it up for a vote. 

"Now it's another $70 million – when does this end? Is it going to be three months from now, it's another $100 million and I've said this in the past – when does this end? When is this going to stop? We can't keep doing this to the taxpayers," Sposato said. "The disheartening thing is that we're not taking anything home to look over, to study, to investigate. This is basically all based off of a one-hour briefing." 

The mayor's office says they have continued to ask for more federal dollars to support the mission. 

On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security announced $300 million in grants to communities who are supporting migrants. 

It's unclear how much of that money will come to Chicago.