One Central Illinois city says it’s not going to be playing a role in helping the state take on the flow of immigrants being bused to the state from elsewhere.
WMAY reports that Springfield won’t be getting involved in helping place the thousands of asylum seeking immigrants that are being dumped in the state by states like Texas and Florida. Several thousand immigrants have already been bused to the Chicago area, and some Central Illinois communities say they are making preparations to help find housing and other resources for them.
WMAY says that Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder was approached about possibly housing some migrants in the Wyndham City Centre downtown. The hotel remains wrapped up in a zoning battle over its mix of hotel rooms and apartments, and Langfelder says it would be impractical to consider that option for now.
More than 2,500 immigrants have arrived on buses from out of state since August. Governor J.B. Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation over the issue on September 14th. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency has also established a unified area command center in Chicago to quickly deploy state resources to support the continued influx.