Republican Mayor of Burr Ridge, (DuPage County, Illinois) Gary Grasso has accused Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot of hypocrisy for sending 60 illegal immigrants to his city without warning or planning. Previously, Chicago's mayor reproached Texas Governor Gregg Abbot for similar behavior.
Grasso, alderman of this residential area near Chicago, recalled that the city boasted of being a sanctuary. That is why he believed that they would have adequate facilities to receive immigrants: "There must be empty hotel rooms in Chicago," he noted. Grasso added that both Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker are using immigrants as "political pawns."
"These are hundreds of people in a city of millions. Why are they sending them to Republican areas? You have to wonder." Grasso told Fox News.
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Some immigrants bused to Chicago from Texas are being housed in a Burr Ridge hotel that was also previously used to receive refugees from Afghanistan.
Illinois Governor's justification
Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokesman for Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, told local Chicago media outlet WGN9 that the Burr Ridge hotel is being used to house immigrants under a prior agreement established between the hotel and the state to house refugees from Afghanistan. Immigrants will remain at the Hampton Inn for at least 30 days after arrival.
Governor JB Pritzker's office noted that "Illinois is a welcoming state and xenophobia has no home here."
For his part, Grasso said he was offended by being labeled a xenophobe: "This has nothing to do with xenophobia....It's not about the migrants...It's about the same thing that Lori Lightfoot complained about and then didn't bother to give us a heads up so we could be prepared, and so we could inform our residents."
More immigrant buses from Texas
For his part, Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated a few days ago that he will continue to transport immigrants until President Joe Biden secures the border.
According to data reported by CNN, the Texas governor's office has so far sent to more than 7,900 immigrants on more than 190 buses to Washington City, more than 2,200 immigrants on more than 40 buses to New York City, and more than 300 immigrants on more than five buses to Chicago.
Despite the fact that after Abbott sent the immigrants, Lori Lightfoot said that she felt " happy to take and empty Texas of all its residents." and assured that "we will rent the buses ourselves next time to bring them here," it now appears that some of these buses could be used to take immigrants out of their city and into residential areas such as Burr Ridge, 20 miles from Chicago.
