Number of migrants in Chicago shelters drops to lowest total in months

CHICAGO - The number of migrants staying at Chicago shelters has fallen to its lowest point in months, according to data shared by the city Tuesday, and it has also shut its use of a temporary shelter at Harold Washington Library.

Down from mid- and early-January peaks of nearly 15,000, the number of migrants in shelters fell below 13,000 for the first time since Nov. 28. The number in shelters has dropped by nearly 1,000 since the start of February.

The falling number in shelters comes as the number of arrivals to the Chicago area has slowed significantly since January.

Of 28 shelters active at the end of January, 13 have seen a more than 10% decrease in the number of migrants staying there, including the downtown library, which was closed at the end of last week and had over 100 people staying there throughout January.

The city has also largely wrapped up its use of O’Hare Airport as a shelter for migrants, with only one staying there Tuesday, according to the city. Another 10 were at police stations and three at the city’s designated "landing zone" at 800 S. Desplaines St.

The decreasing number in shelters also comes as the city’s new mid-March shelter eviction date looms. Thousands of migrants who have reached the 60-day stay limit are expected to have to exit. They will be able to reapply for shelter.

Michael Loria is a staff reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South Side and West Side.