() In the wake of more migrants arriving in Illinois on buses from Texas, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has issued another disaster proclamation.
Pritzker also activated 75 members of the Illinois National Guard to assist with the busloads of asylum seekers sent to Chicago by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
According to the governor’s office, the proclamation “enables the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and other state agencies, in close coordination with the City of Chicago, Cook County, and other local governments, to ensure the individuals and families receive the assistance they need.”
Abbott began busing foreign nationals who crossed the border into Texas illegally to Washington D.C. in April, to New York City this summer, and then to Chicago beginning late last month. Abbott says the crisis at the southern border was created by President Joe Biden’s open border policies. He’s been calling on the federal government to close the border, to no avail.
With two more buses arriving in Chicago from Texas on Tuesday, more than 500 asylum seekers have now arrived in Illinois. Mayor Lori Lightfoot says it is time for the federal government to get involved.
“We all know what the reality is, this is a national problem, it needs a national solution, and us as cities and states can’t be left to fend to ourselves,” Lightfoot said.
Abbott has criticized Pritzker and Lightfoot for busing the migrants to the suburbs, calling them hypocrites after the pair previously criticized the Texas governor for busing them to Illinois with no notice or coordination. The mayors of Burr Ridge and Elk Grove Village said they were given no notice from the city or state that any of them were coming. Lightfoot said the practice may involve more Illinois communities.
“There will be a need to expand the number of communities across the state that may have to step up,” Lightfoot said.
Disaster proclamations in Illinois have become commonplace. Pritzker continues to extend disaster proclamations for the COVID-19 pandemic, giving him emergency powers, and he also issued a disaster proclamation for monkeypox.
