Illinois mayor responds to governor’s ‘ignorant’ comment inferring ‘xenophobia’ amid Chicago migrant crisis

The Republican mayor of a suburban Chicagoland city says Gov. JB Pritzker’s office is calling him “xenophobic” for questioning why a busload of 64 migrants was sent out of Chicago to his city.

147 migrants were bussed from Texas to Chicago on Wednesday, and sixty-four of them were then taken to a Hampton Inn hotel in Burr Ridge, Illinois, which is outside Chicago.

Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso, who is a Republican, told Fox News that he believes the migrants are being used as “political pawns” by both Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

“As I understand it, about a year ago when refugees came in from Afghanistan, this hotel apparently accepted more either through faith-based or charitable organizations, but now the state assumes they can just send migrants… it’s not about them , the migrants are fine, they are being used as political pawns by the governor and the mayor,” Grasso said.

ILLINOIS MAYOR BLASTS CHICAGO MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT’S ‘HYPLECRY’ ABOUT MIGRANTS SENT TO ‘REPUBLICAN SUBURBS’

Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso (left) and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (right).
(FOX 32 and Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Jordan Abudayyeh, press secretary for Pritzker, told WGN it’s interesting that local officials are complaining about this issue.

“The state is working with our partners in the City of Chicago and Cook County, along with advocacy organizations, to welcome those seeking asylum in the United States and provide them with stability as they work to build a new life in Illinois. The state has a past relationship with the hotel being used in the suburbs and their staff have done a fantastic job of welcoming refugees and asylum seekers before so it is interesting that local officials choose this specific body to complain to the press about this specific group of asylum seekers , consisting of approximately 30 families Governor Pritzker has made it clear that Illinois is [a] accommodative state and xenophobia have no home here,” Abudayyeh said.

Grasso says the comment from Pritzker’s office is “bad” and shows how the governor’s office treats people who question his actions.

“Yesterday, the governor’s office issued a statement inferring that the village was xenophobic for responding to the placement of refugees in our community without information or notice. Such ill-advised commentary exemplifies the belligerence the governor’s office has shown anyone who questions by the actions. of the state — from the prolonged shutdown of the state during the pandemic without the legislature’s consent and now the disrespectful way his office is treating the village and its residents,” Grasso said.

ILLINOIS MAYOR ‘DISAPPOINTED,’ SAYS CHICAGO OFFICIALS FAILED TO INFORM HIM OF MIGRANTS SENT TO CITY

The migrants taken to Burr Ridge will stay at a Hampton Inn for at least 30 days.
(FOX 32)

The migrants will spend at least the next 27 days at the Burr Ridge Hampton Inn.

Grasso said the Hampton Inn was previously used to house refugees from Afghanistan, but says that does not “give carte blanche to the governor or the mayor to send a couple of busloads of migrants into our village without telling us.”

“The border situation on the southern border is a completely different situation than Afghan refugees. It’s total arrogance for the state to assume they can send migrants to the suburbs around Chicago,” Grasso said.

A spokesman for the village of Burr Ridge said the migrants were transported from the Salvation Army Shield of Hope in Chicago to Burr Ridge, according to NBC5.

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Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduces Jazmine Sullivan during 2022 Lollapalooza Day One in Grant Park on July 28, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois
(Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

According to the report, a statement from Illinois Department of Human Services reads that the migrants “are receiving temporary shelter in city and suburban hotels that have provided refuge to vulnerable families from Afghanistan and other parts of the world. We are grateful for the hospitality and care they have received from individuals and organizations throughout Illinois.”

“We will continue to act to ensure that everyone in Illinois has access to shelter, food, health care and other basic, essential supports,” the statement read. “We expect that the state of Texas will continue to transport migrants to Illinois, and we remain committed to helping accommodate new arrivals in a responsible, orderly and compassionate manner.”