Senate Republican leader says Pritzker invited, mishandling migrant crisis

[January 31, 2024]  By Andrew Hensel | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The leading Republican state senator in Illinois is criticizing Gov. J.B. Pritzker's handling of the migrant crisis and says the governor asked for the issues the state is now facing.

Illinois has seen more than 35,000 non-citizen migrant arrivals over the past 15 months. The state is considered a migrant sanctuary because state law limits local law enforcement's cooperation with federal immigration officials.

As the taxpayer costs involved continue to skyrocket, Senate Minority Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, said Pritzker has mismanaged the crisis.

"I think the governor has mismanaged this situation," Curran told The Center Square. "I don't see Indiana, our neighbor to the east, having this difficult of a time. I don't see our neighbor to our southeast, Kentucky, having this difficult of a time. We by policy have asked people to come here."

Curran said when you compare the costs on immigration from before Pritzker took office, the difference is significant.

"It's an invited crisis from the governor's policy of priorities over his five years in office," Curran said. "The year before the governor took office, the state spent about one million a year on non-citizens in various programs. We are up over one billion [dollars] at this point."

The costs to handle the migrant influx in Chicago come out to around $1.5 million per day for Illinois taxpayers, according to Mayor Brandon Johnson.

State Sen. John Curran, R-Downers Grove, inside his Illinois Capitol office in Springfield
Greg Bishop / The Center Square

"Unfortunately for Illinois taxpayers, and the scores of under-resourced communities in our state, the results of his irresponsible policies have been total chaos," Curran wrote in a commentary for the Chicago Tribune. "As with so many areas of state government that continue to flounder under his leadership, Pritzker’s rhetoric has far exceeded his ability to manage."

State officials have been calling on President Joe Biden for extra funding for the issue. State Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, floated the idea of refusing to host the Democratic National Convention until more federal dollars are sent to Chicago to deal with the issue.

"If Chicago doesn't get federal help for its housing crisis, it should pass on hosting the DNC," Buckner wrote in the Chicago Tribune. "I realize this is a bold and unprecedented suggestion, but our situation is also unprecedented, and we must act with that in mind."

Pritzker Monday provided an update on the crisis and shot down the idea of refusing the DNC.

"I approve of the idea of getting the federal government to do what it needs to do, but we're going to have a fabulous Democratic National Convention here, and we are going to provide for the migrants that are coming to the city of Chicago," Pritzker said. "The city, the county and the state are working together to make sure that happens."

The state's taxpayers have spent more than $500 million on migrant care in the past year.