Last updated on December 20, 2023
A five-year-old boy became sick at one of the city’s migrant shelters. He was rushed to a hospital where he died. They denied Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero previous requests for medical assistance. This shelter in Pilsen has been the subject of criticism because of horrendous and inhumane conditions.
Borderless Magazine was founded in 2019 to report on issues migrants face in Chicago. Borderless Magazine won or was nominated for many journalism awards. Their work has appeared in other local news organizations.
This story, “Investigation: Migrants Describe Inhumane Conditions At Chicago’s Largest Shelter” deals with the inhumane conditions at this migrant shelter in Pilsen. It demonstrates that the Johnson administration is responsible for inhumane conditions in the migrant shelters. The city just does not care about people. The Johnson administration only cares about publicity and sermons. Here are some quotes from their article on the Pilsen shelter:
“Maria* feels the dust and fiber-like particles fall from the ceiling and blanket on her family every time she tries to sleep on her emergency cot nestled among hundreds of other Venezuelan migrants.
It’s cold on most nights. If there’s a heating system in the building, she doesn’t feel it.. You can’t have anything here,” Maria said. “Nothing. No privacy.”
“However, interviews with those living at the shelter and videos Borderless reviewed of conditions inside the building show that the result of that scramble is a building that fails to meet the basic standards for emergency shelter laid out by the U.N. Refugee Agency.”
“In recent weeks, migrants described outbreaks of various illnesses, including chickenpox, the flu, and upper respiratory infections, spreading without sufficient medical attention.”
“Staff have barred migrants from recording or taking photos inside the shelter and “threatened” to kick migrants out if they speak with members of the media.”
“Many of the migrants sleeping in the warehouse’s Zone A and B described frigid temperatures and “fiber” particles falling from the ceiling. Some parents with children at the shelter told Borderless their children were suffering from eye infections they believed to be caused by the falling debris.”
“Several migrants also said shelter workers often rationed water, distributing only half a cup during meals.”
“You have to stand for two to three hours to get food. It’s ridiculous.”
“A recent arrival at the shelter was hoping to get antibiotics to help him recover from a throat infection and the flu, but the clinic staff didn’t provide any medication.”
“They’re constantly threatening you,” Maria said. “You have to be so careful because they write a report for everything. If you slip, they report you and kick you out. It’s a bit frustrating.”
“They treat us terribly — like dogs,” another young woman said.”
Who is running this site? Favorite Staffing, the same organization that has been failing the migrants since they got the overly boondoggle contract. This inhumane company should be run out of town and sued to get the tax dollars they cheated us out of. Instead, the Johnson administration quietly renewed their 100 million dollar contract. The Chicago Way is alive and well.
One would think that the building would have been inspected before the migrants were allowed in. One would think the building would be checked for asbestos and lead-based paint. How about if the HVAC system is operating properly? Those are just a few inspection and safety points that should have been performed.
One would think wrong. The Chicago Way does not work like that. Make no mistake. Brandon Johnson is a faithful disciple of the Chicago Way. Make the developers and chosen vendors rich while creating conditions of inhumanity.
So much for the humane treatment of migrants by a supposed progressive mayor. His only goal was to get the migrants out of police stations and cram them into substandard facilities to stop criticism of his ineptitude. Worse, the city hired facility managers Favorite Staffing who do not care about the health and welfare of the migrants. They only care about getting the big kachingos$.
Johnson claims the city is looking into the death. All he has to do is read the article in Borderless.
Now the city is separating families before placing them in shelters. Gee, where have we seen this before? Shades of Donald Trump.
There should be an independent investigation of this administration’s handling of the migrants and the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars spent/wasted on vendors and contractors like Favorite Staffing. We deserve answers and information. All we get is secrecy and accusations of racism and right-wing extremism. Now Johnson is blaming Governor Greg Abbott for the death and condition of the building.
Mayor Brandon Johnson told reporters Monday afternoon that “we are obviously deeply sorry and hurt by this loss” before placing the blame on Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has been busing migrants to Chicago and other liberal cities for the past 15 months.
“They’re just dropping off people anywhere. Do you understand how raggedy and how evil that is … and then you want to hold us accountable for something that’s happening down at the border? It’s sickening,” the mayor said. (Chicago Tribune)
Favorite Staffing refused to get timely medical attention for that child. Brandon Johnson is the mayor. He is responsible. No one else is responsible. He wears the hat. Johnson should fire the people who chose that building without an inspection. He and his administration are as raggedy and evil as Gregg Abbott.