Illinois Halts Construction of Migrant Shelter Due to High Levels of Arsenic, Lead and Mercury

CHICAGO — Chicago was well underway with its plan to house Latin American migrants, but a recent environmental report on a proposed shelter location has unraveled it.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker ordered construction be halted on what would have been a migrant shelter able to house over 2,000 people. The shelter was being erected in the Brighton Park neighborhood, but the plan was suspended due to high levels of arsenic, lead and mercury on the proposed site.

"The well-being of residents and workers at the site is our highest priority, and current and planned site conditions do not adequately reduce risks of human exposure to known and potential environmental conditions," said Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim.

"My administration is committed to keeping asylum seekers safe as we work to help them achieve independence," said Governor Pritzker. "We will not proceed with housing families on a site where serious environmental concerns are still present. We will continue to coordinate with the City of Chicago as we work to expand available shelter through winter."

The shelter was a large part of the city of Chicago's plan to house the 24,000 migrants who have arrived in Chicago in buses from states along the U.S.-Mexico border since August 2022. The city and state have also allocated over $310 million to aid and house migrants.

In response to halting construction on the Brighton Park shelter, the state will provide funding to turn an abandoned CVS store in the Little Village neighborhood into a migrant shelter. Little Village is one of the largest Hispanic communities in Chicago, with 80% of the population identifying as Hispanic. Still, community members are not welcoming of migrants.

According to Block Club Chicago, the new shelter will house some 230 migrants for a maximum of six months; however, no move-in date has been announced.

This news comes as some 660 migrants await placement and are living at police stations and airports, according to WBEZ.

To date, Chicago has housed many migrants arriving in the city in 26 temporary shelters across the city. But as temperatures continue to drop in the windy city, city officials are working to find better-suited housing for migrants and their families.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has also been under pressure from other city hall members who oppose his aid plans for migrants, and last month, a select few banded together to bring a resolution to next year's election that would have residents vote on whether to remain a Sanctuary City and continue to take in migrants.