A Chicago alderman warned that the city was neglecting its own citizens by approving Mayor Brandon Johnson’s request for an additional $70 million to help care for migrants arriving in the city.
During a budget committee meeting, the alderman said residents on the West and South Sides had been “all but forgotten.”
Another alderman questioned providing more funding when the city lacks money for after-school programs and helping kids, calling it a “fundamental problem.”
“We are not taking care of our own,” Alderman Chris Taliaferro said. “We have all but forgotten the residents on the West Side and South Side.”
The committee voted 20-8 to advance the $70 million proposal, which would draw from the city’s 2022 fund balance, to the full City Council for approval as early as Wednesday.
However, some aldermen argued the city should prioritize addressing needs of its existing residents over allocating more money to the growing migrant crisis.
“Here we are begging for more money when we don’t have money for the people here,” 9th Ward Ald. Anthony Beale said. “We don’t have money for after school programs. We don’t have money to help our kids get off the street. Yet, we would just blow money left and right. That’s a fundamental problem.”
