City delays opening of South Side shelter for asylum seekers amid community concerns, according to alderperson

A temporary shelter in Woodlawn for recently arrived asylum seekers that has sparked controversy isn’t expected to open up this week after all, according to Ald. Jeanette Taylor, whose 20th Ward includes the property.

City officials confirmed last week that the James Wadsworth Elementary School at 6420 S. University Ave., would be converted into a temporary shelter for newly arrived immigrants seeking asylum.

The shelter, which had been slated to open Friday, will instead open at a later date to allow for another community forum, which residents had pushed for, Taylor said Thursday. The opening will also be contingent on the creation of a safety and security plan for in and around the property.

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“I feel like my heart was in the ground,” Taylor said. “I feel like it’s back in my chest.”

On Friday afternoon, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office released a statement saying that a firm date had not been set on when the shelter will open.

“The City is continuing to engage with the Woodlawn community and is committed to carefully balancing the needs of both our residents and new arrivals,” the statement read.

Since late August, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has sent hundreds of asylum seekers to Democrat-led cities like Chicago. More than 3,850 asylum seekers had arrived on chartered buses from Texas as of last week, according to city officials. In addition, the city has provided services for 1,400 asylum seekers who have arrived to Chicago in recent months.

In a statement released Thursday, Lightfoot said the city was at “maximum capacity” in housing and services for asylum seekers.

“Thus, it would simply be inhumane for cities and states to continue sending migrants to Chicago. Treating migrants like freight must end. It is simply immoral,” Lightfoot said in the prepared statement that did not address the Wadsworth property.

While some Woodlawn residents completely oppose the shelter, others wanted the city to answer their questions, Taylor said.

“This was imposed on us,” she said. “It’s not like they came to the community or me.”

The delay in opening means Taylor won’t be joining residents who had planned to protest the shelter. Taylor had said there were concerns about the impact the shelter will have on Woodlawn residents and on the newly arrived asylum seekers who won’t be near immigrant resources.

Jennifer Maddox, an aldermanic candidate for the 20th Ward, said she was not notified about the delayed opening, but other residents received an email late Wednesday from the city indicating the date had been pushed back to allow for another community meeting. Maddox was among a group of residents who had a news conference Thursday morning to air their concerns.

“We just want the mayor to really come to Woodlawn to speak to the residents,” Maddox said by phone Thursday afternoon. “They want to see her, they want to talk to her. They want her to answer herself reasons why she decided to do that.”

Maddox said she attended the community forum that was held in late December, but she walked away with few answers. One of her biggest concerns about the temporary shelter centers around safety.

There is also a sense that the Woodlawn community’s call for resources is being ignored while funds are diverted to the community of newly arrived asylum seekers, she said. This has led to residents feeling like they were “slapped in the face” or not good enough to receive the resources, Maddox said.

“We’re not against migrants at all,” Maddox said. “But we need to understand that there are an existing population of people that reside or are in the community that need some of the resources as well. We want to make sure it’s equitable to all.”

Community concerns about the shelter come as Lightfoot has pushed for lawmakers to provide the city with more funding to assist the asylum seekers. Late last week, Lightfoot sent a letter to Illinois legislators requesting $53.5 million to continue providing emergency resources.

Elvia Malagón’s reporting on social justice and income inequality is made possible by a grant from the Chicago Community Trust.