“We shouldn’t have to come to this point, but here we are,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. “Even in my final days as mayor it is important that we step up and respond to this burgeoning crisis.”
Brandie Knazze
Johnson, who will replace Lightfoot in less than two weeks, said he would consult with the South Shore community before making any final decisions on how to address a renewed surge of immigrants being sent to the city from Texas and other states along the southern border.
More than 8,100 people, most of them from Central and South America, have arrived in Chicago since Aug. 31. Mayor Lori Lightfoot sent to the City Council Friday, acknowledging that once again the city’s shelter system is bursting at the seams.
Both Chicago and Cook County are in the process of launching guaranteed income programs that will provide more than 8,000 residents with $500 a month, no strings attached. While applications for Cook County residents will open in the fall, Chicago residents have started receiving monthly payments.
“The many challenges of COVID-19, coupled with the inconvenience of life-threatening conditions that cold weather and extreme weather brings every year, that means we’ve got to utilize every tool that we can to protect the health and well-being of our residents,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday.
Celia Meza has served as the city’s top attorney since December, replacing former Corporation Counsel Mark Flessner, who resigned amid a furor over the mayor’s handling of the revelation that Chicago police officers handcuffed a naked woman during a mistaken raid in February 2019.
After six years at the helm of the city department responsible for caring for Chicago’s most vulnerable residents, Lisa Morrison Butler announced her resignation. In a letter to aldermen, she said her last day would be Feb. 26.
