Ald. Julia Ramirez, 12th, who was cornered last week by a crowd protesting against a tentative plan by Mayor Brandon Johnson to erect winterized tents to house migrants in an empty parking lot in Brighton Park, sent a letter Sunday to her constituents that she did not offer the site as a possible location for the tents and that the mayor’s office had not consulted her about it.
“When Mayor Johnson’s office announced plans for winterized base camps in September and asked alderpeople to submit locations in our wards that could support these temporary shelters, my office did not submit any locations,” Ramirez said in her Oct. 22 letter. “The mayor’s administration has been in direct contact with the property owner of the site at 38th & California, without looping in my office.
“Additionally, to my frustration, the mayor’s office did not consult with me or my office about their current plans to construct a temporary shelter — meant to house 1,500 people — at 38th & California, nor did they inform my office that they would be sending work crews to conduct a site assessment last week,” she wrote.
Last Thursday, tensions flared as hundreds of residents gathered on the Southwest Side to protest against the proposed encampment near 38th Street and California Avenue. Residents reported that they have seen construction crews cutting down trees, flattening land and laying down infrastructure in the past month.
When Ramirez arrived at the protest, dozens of protesters surrounded her, shouting angrily and pushing toward her, prompting police to intervene and escort her and an aide into a squad car.
Ramirez did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
A spokesman for Johnson told the Tribune that the city is assessing the site for viability.
“The city of Chicago has been identifying viable sites across the city to construct base camps as an alternative to new arrivals sleeping outdoors, at O’Hare and on the floors of police district stations as winter fast approaches. The site at 38th and California appears viable, and the intention is to construct temporary shelter at this site,” Johnson spokesman Ronnie Reese said in an email. “The city is currently performing work on the site to confirm the underlying infrastructure’s viability before initiating construction. The city will also notify residents of the outcome of this final assessment and share further operations details prior to placing any new arrivals into the facilities.”
City officials and Ramirez are planning to meet Tuesday evening with residents who live near the site of a controversial proposed tent encampment. The meeting is scheduled to be held at Kelly High School, 4136 S. California Ave., at 6 p.m.
In September, Johnson’s administration quietly signed a $29 million contract with GardaWorld Federal Services and its subsidiary Aegis Defense Services to construct “yurt” structures around the city, facing mounting pressure to house thousands of migrants staying at police stations with winter approaching. The contract reveals the structures will have fire extinguishers and portable restrooms with makeshift kitchens nearby but questions remain about their heating capabilities.
Johnson’s administration has asked aldermen to submit locations in their wards as possible sites for the camps.
On Oct. 12, a week before the protest in Brighton Park, Johnson’s deputy chief of staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas said some aldermen “understood the assignment and didn’t require any follow-up,” but the administration was still waiting for 75% of the city’s 50 aldermen to “turn it in.”
Ramirez said in a statement Sunday that her office did not submit any locations.
“As your representative in the City Council, my number one priority is finding workable solutions to our problems that allow us all to feel safe in our community and live peacefully alongside each other,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez’s statement stressed the importance of asking for more funding from the federal government, recognizing that thousands of migrants sleeping on the floors of police stations constitutes a humanitarian crisis.
“One city can’t do it alone,” she wrote.
According to Ramirez, the meeting will give residents an opportunity to ask questions, raise concerns and get direct answers from city officials. Camp security and the plan to integrate children into the surrounding public schools may also be addressed by city officials, Ramirez said.
More than 19,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since August 2022. Close to 12,000 are staying in city shelters, while another 2,500 are awaiting shelter placement at police stations, which have run out of space. As evening temperatures begin to dip into the low 40s, many have been sleeping outside the stations.
Heather Nichols, one of the volunteers leading efforts at a police station in Garfield Park, told the Tribune she is worried about the sanitary conditions of police stations — where people are using porta-potties to clean and bathe themselves.
“We are seeing people who are sick from being outside,” she said.
An additional 600 migrants are staying at O’Hare International Airport until they can find housing.
Chicago Tribune’s A.D. Quig contributed.
