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Questions arise over company chosen to build camps for migrants in Chicago
The company chosen to build camps for migrants in Chicago is now facing questions after mistreatment allegations.
CHICAGO - The company chosen to build camps for migrants in Chicago is now facing questions after mistreatment allegations.
The city agreed to a nearly $30 million contract with private security firm GardaWorld Federal Services to create giant tent cities Mayor Brandon Johnson has called "winterized base camps."
A 2022 report by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General revealed the company hired inexperienced employees to oversee migrant children. The report also said some children went two months without seeing a case manager.
The city of Denver was set to have a contract with the company in July but canceled these plans.
During briefings this month, City Council members were shown pictures of what the giant tents would look like.
They include frames, rows of cots, mess halls and attached heating and air-conditioning units. Trailer-like portable toilets were parked adjacent to the tents.
Photographs included in the GardaWorld contract look somewhat different.
The rendering of the so-called "soft-sided exterior temporary housing" had a barracks-like appearance.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.