The state of Illinois is planning to house hundreds of illegal immigrants sent from Texas in a shuttered K-Mart store on Chicago’s south side.
Not everyone is happy about the idea.
Some activists fear that it won’t offer enough privacy for the people who will be living there. Some local residents don’t like the idea of increasing the population on the city’s south side.
ABC 7 in Chicago reports:
State plans to turn shuttered Southwest Side Kmart store into a shelter for migrants
Elected officials and community groups are telling the State of Illinois to slow down after learning that a shuttered West Lawn Kmart located at 71st and Pulaski may soon house several hundred migrants being bused to Chicago from Texas.
“We’re not looking for just ‘here, it’s a building with four walls and that’s it. It’s a roof over your head.’ No,” said State Rep. Angie Guerrero-Cuéllar (D-22).
Guerrero-Cuéllar expressed concerns over the timeline.
“How fast do you want to turn it around into a shelter where you are talking about having to come in and build out rooms and bathrooms and a kitchen area space that’s going to be utilized for privacy,” Guerrero-Cuéllar said.
The property is 96,268 square feet, according to a past presentation about the development. It was among a group of Kmart stores across the country that closed in 2016, according to media reports at the time…
Guerrero-Cuéllar says the community needs time to fully understand what is happening and to develop an adequate safety plan.
“I want to make sure residents understand what the timeline is going to be,” Guerrero-Cuéllar said. “Is this going to be a short term shelter? A permanent shelter? How long are they going to be here?”
Here’s a video report:
Maybe the folks in the Biden administration should have had a plan in place before allowing millions of people to flow across the southern border, or just not allowed it to happen in the first place.