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Evanston to continue exploring options for migrant shelter

Members of the Evanston City Council this week expressed hesitation about two proposed sites for a county-funded migrant shelter despite acknowledging the issue of unhoused migrants in Chicagoland, and they directed staff to explore further options.

Discussions at the April 8 City Council meeting moved away from hosting a potential shelter at 1020 Church Street, a vacant two-story office space with the ability to house anywhere from 60 to 65 people, or the Morton Civic Center, where city operations are being temporarily moved from starting in July.

Applications for funding from Cook County to house “new arrivals” defined as “an individual who crossed the Mexico/U.S. border on or after August 1, 2022, with the intent to stay permanently, and who does not possess any permanent or interim U.S. legal status (which does not include being in parole status), such as legal permanent residency, a student or work visa, etc.” are due April 19.

Evanston Policy Coordinator Alison Leipsiger has been exploring options for months but all other sites required extensive repairs to be livable. One site, she said, required personal protective equipment to inspect. 1020 Church was the first viable option she has been able to bring to the council.

“It’s a pretty uncomfortable place personally for me to be that I’m not going to have every single answer tonight,” she told the council. “Know that I will not have every single answer but I do have a slew of staff ready in the councilmember library. We’re going to do our best.”

She encouraged council members to send her any options they find and “leave no stone unturned.”

The Church Street building would need renovations including installation of fire sprinkler systems, a fire escape, mold removal and expansion of existing shower and restroom spaces, among other issues. As for the Civic Center, extensive repairs are needed to make the building suitable for city staff to work there, much less house people.

All councilmembers present expressed a desire to help migrants in need but were concerned about the viability of the available sites and lack of information about the funding.

“To me, the question is not if we want to do something, the question is how, or maybe specifically in this case, the question is where,” Councilmember Jonathan Nieuwsma said. “I think our time is better spent continuing to look for a facility that would enjoy broad support of the council and would rather have staff focus on that.”

Nieuwsma, who represents the 4th Ward where the Church Street site is located, stated his ward is already home to several supportive housing shelters including the Margarita Inn and worries that temporarily housing migrants at that location could impact the new-coming Northlight Theater next door.

Krissie Harris, 2nd Ward Alderwoman, said she would be in favor of working with the county to open a migrant shelter in Evanston but would need to see more concrete plans first in order to convince wary constituents the project can be successful.

“Just because the carrot is dangling doesn’t mean we have to take it,” she said.

Leipsiger explained that because the city only became aware of the Church Street property on March 28, there hasn’t been much time to flesh out a plan. It’s also unknown how much funding the city could receive from the county for the project, which drastically impacts any plan’s viability. She believes available funding would cover the $120,000 yearly rent, retrofitting and operating costs for 1020 Church Street but not enough to all out purchase the building.

Councilmember Juan Geracaris said despite this, he would rather see the city apply for funding before the opportunity passes them by. Leipsiger said she was told by the county to let it know of any interest in the funding by April 19 and could indicate the possibility of deadline extension.

Multiple residents came forward to support the plan, including Ilya Sheyman whose family came to Evanston as refugees decades ago. He said Chicagoland is capable of absorbing this group of migrants just as it has absorbed those fleeing the war in Ukraine.

“The migrants arriving now are coming without the support network refugees have historically had,” he said. “This is the chance to bring in additional resources to help people build a home in this community we call home.”

Debra Michaud, who started the nonprofit Refugee Support Chicago, brought Dyonne Indra Blanco, a single mother of two from Venezuela who arrived in Chicago eight months ago, to speak before the council. Blanco spoke about carrying her youngest son on her back through seven countries and now volunteers with Michaud’s nonprofit, helping migrants like herself.

Not everyone spoke in favor of the potential shelter. Carlis Sutton, who sits on Evanston’s Reparations Committee, said the city should instead focus on keeping current Evanston residents in their homes and called the idea a slap in the face to those who have paid taxes in the city but been denied access to assistance programs.

Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss called the issue an emergency, saying actions like those of Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott are “deranged” and said he is using human beings as political pawns.

“This is a moral crisis that we as the city of Evanston have a responsibility to figure out if we can help with,” he said. “I do think that the emergency that is presenting itself to us right now doesn’t really give us the luxury to just kind of wait until the day when the perfect opportunity presents itself.”