NAPERVILLE, Ill. (NewsNation) — As hundreds of migrants are bused to Chicago and the surrounding cities, one suburban councilman has suggested giving residents the option to sign up to host a migrant family.
Naperville City Councilman Josh McBroom — who believes the city should not use taxpayer dollars to fund migrant aid or housing —suggested during a city council meeting last week that Naperville families be given the option to host migrants in their own homes instead. Naperville is a suburb about 30 miles west of Chicago.
“We do have a very affluent community. A lot of big homes,” he said.
McBroom continued, “What I’d like to do is direct staff to create a sign-up sheet for individuals that would be willing to house migrant families. And if there are people who are willing to do that, God bless them.”
The councilman proposed the city provide a sign-up list for those who want to help.
Nearly 35,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since Aug. 21, 2022, when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began sending asylum seekers to Democratic “sanctuary cities” to help alleviate overcrowding at the southern border. Since then, plans to house and care for migrants have hit logistic and financial setbacks.
Chicago’s response has stood out for its haphazard approach with a heavy reliance on volunteers who have spent more than a year providing medical care, food and donated items.
Plus, as January is in full swing, and with unpredictable winter weather systems creeping through the city, migrants still have nowhere to go nor the proper supplies to survive the elements.
The winter weather has exposed the lack of adequate shelters in northern cities, spurring humanitarian and safety concerns.
Migrants have spent their nights on police station floors and at a makeshift shelter at O’Hare International Airport. When they aren’t sleeping, they are staggered on city streets and corners in the cold, looking for anyone to help with essentials or finding work.
In December, Chicago cracked down on what it called “rogue buses,” and passed rules requiring them to drop off during particular hours in a stretch of downtown designated as “the landing zone.”
The move forced buses to avoid the city and they began unloading migrants at Chicagoland commuter train stations, the Chicago Tribune reported. The goal was to have the migrants take the rest of the way into the city by train, the report said.
Some migrants have decided to camp out in neighboring suburbs. And while Naperville has been fairly quiet about the recent wave of migrant drop-offs, McBroom ignited the conversation by suggesting the city’s residents step up themselves if they wanted to make a change and help migrants.
However, McBroom didn’t introduce the idea under the day’s agency, and the council could not take action on his recommendation, the Chicago Tribune reported. Staff were instructed to take the idea and create a lasting, more thought out version for future city council meetings, the report said.