Chicago Taxpayers Bear $1.8M Cost After Lawsuit Over Failed Migrant Housing Plan

If your city commits to paying you but doesn’t follow through, what steps should you take? This was exactly the issue faced by the owners of an empty plot in Brighton Park, a district within Chicago.

NBC 5 reports In 2024, Barnacres Corporation initiated legal action against the City of Chicago due to a violation of their agreement. The municipality reportedly neglected to make the scheduled lease payments required for utilizing the property where they planned to accommodate numerous migrants with winterized tent facilities.

The lawsuit settlement was completed in early April of this year, costing Chicago taxpayers considerably. Can you explain what transpired and determine the amount that taxpayers will have to cover?

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What amount did the City of Chicago pay to Barnacres Corporation?

The total cost for the City of Chicago, including the $816,506.67 settlement and approximately $1 million already expended preparing the site to accommodate migrants, amounts to more than $1.8 million. These funds will be sourced entirely from tax revenues. Initially, the city planned to lease the empty plot at a rate of $91,400 monthly.

Neither the City of Chicago nor Barnacres Corporation acknowledged any wrongdoing or responsibility as part of the agreement.

Nevertheless, the city has consented to construct a wheelchair-accessible ramp at a warehouse located on the undeveloped plot of land and will also finalize water and sewage connections that were installed earlier with the expectation of accommodating incoming migrants.

What caused the initiative to relocate migrants to Brighton Park to fail?

The empty plot was intended to accommodate approximately 2,000 migrants with the aim of helping to mitigate some of the issues. crisis caused partly by an influx of asylum-seekers settling in Chicago . According to the City of Chicago official government website , that’s “over 51,000 new arrivals from the southern border,” between August 31, 2022 and December 18, 2024 alone.

However, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scrapped the city’s plans following an 800-page report outlining the land’s condition , including dangerously high concentrations of toxic metals and mercury in both the soil and air surrounding the property. These issues persisted despite efforts to address some of the environmental concerns.

Anthony Moser, part of the advocacy group FOIA Bakery, spoke with NBC 5 journalists about how the report underscores the environmental problems present in the area. He also mentioned that residents could have been unaware of potential hazards they were exposed to simply by living there.

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Even though the previous plans were abandoned, the City of Chicago continues to look for methods to address the ongoing issues related to accommodating migrants.

In late 2024, Chicago revealed its intentions to integrate its migrant support systems with its homeless shelters, aiming to streamline the accommodation of asylum seekers. conclude by December Dubbed the One System Initiative (OSI), Mayor Brandon Johnson said this program aims to assist anyone in need within the city of Chicago.

Nevertheless, these shelters might already be filled to their maximum capacity. furthering the need For insulated tents. According to last year’s data by the Chicago Alliance to Combat Homelessness (CACH) discovered that more than 68,000 inhabitants were experiencing homelessness — this accounts for approximately 2.55% of the total population, as stated by the data. 2023 Census information for Chicago In comparison, approximately 37,000 people utilized services aimed at the homeless population (roughly 1.4% of the total population).

These figures do not account for the significant influx of migrants coming into the city.

Now that the vacant lot project has been scrapped, it's unclear what future plans exist for the area or those seeking shelter. In the meantime, taxpayers must pay for what some deemed a controversial project to begin with.

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