Embattled Kenwood shelter housing migrants and homeless Chicagoans to close in coming months
Located at 4900 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, the shelter opened in summer 2023 to accommodate migrants sent to Chicago by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Its opening drew sharp pushback from residents concerned about how newcomers from crisis-affected regions would integrate into the neighborhood.
Tensions deepened when the facility was later expanded to include homeless Chicagoans, part of the city and state's One System Initiative aimed at merging shelter services for both populations.
Early months of combined migrant, homeless shelters in Chicago see success, structural challengesPeters said he was notified of the closure by city and Illinois Department of Human Services officials at 3:15 p.m. Friday. Those currently housed at the shelter will move to new facilities over the next three to six months, he said.
Neither the city nor the state was immediately able to provide a comment Friday afternoon regarding the reason for the closure or the number of people affected.
'We've always believed that housing is a human right,' Peters said. 'But also, at the end of the day, what matters most is being transparent with everybody.'
As tens of thousands of people arrived by bus over roughly two years, the city and state scrambled to open enough shelters to stave off a full-blown homelessness crisis in Chicago. The city and state were running 28 migrant-exclusive facilities at the peak of arrivals in January of last year, according to city census data.
The idea of a combined system was championed by some who said it would spread out resources to a wider range of people. There are dozens of shelters in the new system.
The closure announcement also comes as President Donald Trump has ramped up immigration enforcement in and around the city, targeting courts and offices where people are reporting for check-ins. Many of the migrants being housed by the city are from Venezuela, a country that Trump has repeatedly singled out in immigration policy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Texas Democrats poised to end standoff: 5 things to know
Texas House Democrats who fled the state to stall a Republican redistricting plan have signaled they're ready to return to the Lone Star State in the coming days. The Texas state legislature wrapped up its first special session on Friday, one of the conditions the Democrats gave for ending their quorum break. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) quickly called a second special session, with Democrats' anticipated return set to clear the way for the Texas House to move forward with an aggressive gerrymander that could net five more House seats for the GOP in the midterms. But the quorum-breaking Texas Democrats are touting the national attention they've brought to the redistricting fight and looking for hope from California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has vowed to move forward with his own new map. Here's what to know as Democrats plan to end the standoff: Why now? It was always highly unlikely that Texas Democrats would be able to permanently thwart the GOP's redistricting effort. But by fleeing the state, they hoped to raise national attention over the issue and inspire Democrat-led states to move forward with their own new maps. In both cases, they succeeded. The Texas Democrats' decision to leave made the redistricting battle a national story. And now California is moving forward with its own effort to rewrite its congressional lines in the hopes of counteracting the Texas GOP. Other blue states may soon follow. The Texas Democrats also wanted to hold out until the first special session came to an end, which it did on Friday. They cited both that and California's decision to move forward with redistricting as its preconditions for coming home. The developments allow Democrats to frame the outcome as a victory, even if Republicans will also tout their return as a win. There were also other financial and political risks for the Democrats. They've been forced to parry Republican criticism that they're holding up other legislative business — including disaster relief for Texas affected by recent floods — by staying out-of-state. And each quorum breaker has been racking up $500-a-day fines for their absence, on top of threats of removal and arrest, as well as the logistical cost of living away from their homes. What does it mean for the new Texas maps? The new GOP-friendly maps are almost certain to pass once the Democrats return to the state. Even as they remained out of state, a set of new congressional lines passed in the state Senate, while an identical set of lines were also approved by a state House committee. House Republicans couldn't bring the new map to a floor vote in the lower chamber, however, until the Democrats returned. With the Democrats expected to return to the state, Republicans will have the quorum needed to hold a vote on and pass their map. The map would go next to Abbott for his signature before the new congressional lines are enacted. Texas Democrats knew they would inevitably return to the state since Abbott had threatened to call special session after special session until they returned. Democrats had no options available for blocking the new map from passing, since Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and the GOP also has a Republican governor. How are both sides spinning it? Republicans are touting their return as a win, since it means they will be able to move forward with passing new congressional lines. But Democrats are celebrating the outcome as a political victory too. 'Abbott thought he could silence Black and Latino Texans with his redistricting scheme. He was wrong. We fought back — now other states, starting with California, will neutralize their power grab,' the Texas House Democrats said in a statement posted on X. National Democrats also hailed it as a win that Republicans were unable to pass their new House map during the first special session. 'Under threats to their safety and livelihood, Texas Democrats have continued to deny Republicans a quorum to enact their rigged maps and ignited a national Democratic movement,' Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin said in a statement. 'From California to Washington, D.C, Democrats will continue to stand with the American people and the people of Texas as we battle against Trump and Republicans' anti-democratic attacks,' he added. But the White House is also pushing other states like Indiana and Missouri to redraw their maps as well – raising questions over how many states will ultimately get involved in the fight and have the upper hand. What does it mean for the wider redistricting battle? The redistricting battle in Texas has turned into a nationwide war, and that's unlikely to change anytime soon. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) wants to hold a special election in November to ask voters to weigh in on a ballot measure allowing the state legislature to redraw the state's congressional maps for the rest of the decade. 'I hope we are waking up to this reality. Wake up, America. Wake up to what Donald Trump is doing,' Newsom said at a Thursday event on the effort. 'Wake up to his assault, wake up to the assault on institutions and knowledge and history. Wake up to his war on science, public health and his war on the American people.' California Democrats released their proposed new map, which targets five Republican incumbents, on Friday night. Other states are also considering jumping into the fray. Ohio is already set to redistrict due to state requirements, and Republicans in Florida and Missouri have suggested they'll be revisiting their maps, too. Other blue states like New York and Illinois are also weighing redistricting now. Is it really the end of the fight in Texas? The next front in the Texas redistricting battle is likely to play out in the courts. As the Democrats' statement noted on Thursday, their legal counsel has advised them to 'return to Texas to build a strong public legislative record for the upcoming legal battle against a map that violates both the current Voting Rights Act and the Constitution.' 'We will return to the House floor and to the courthouse with a clear message: the fight to protect voting rights has only just begun,' it added. Democratic groups are likely to file a lawsuit once Texas passes its new map. If that battle plays out in state courts, it will almost certainly fail since the Texas Supreme Court has a conservative majority. If it were to somehow play out in federal court, it's not as clear-cut, given the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled favorably for Democrats in the past over the Voting Rights Act. At the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court still enjoys a conservative majority. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Texas Democrats return to Austin, ending redistricting standoff
Texas House Democrats announced Monday that they had returned to Austin for the next stage in a broader redistricting battle playing out across the country, saying their conditions to return to the Lone Star State had been met. 'We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance and intimidation, and rallied Democrats nationwide to join this existential fight for fair representation — reshaping the entire 2026 landscape,' Texas Democratic House Caucus Chair Gene Wu said in a statement. 'We're returning to Texas more dangerous to Republicans' plans than when we left. Our return allows us to build the legal record necessary to defeat this racist map in court, take our message to communities across the state and country, and inspire legislators across the country how to fight these undemocratic redistricting schemes in their own statehouses,' he added. Texas House lawmakers are scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. EDT Monday during their second special session. The Texas Senate is expected to convene around 6 p.m. Efforts to pass a GOP-proposed House map, which aims to give the party five pickup opportunities ahead of 2026, stalled in the first special session when House Democrats fled the state to block Republicans from advancing it. A Texas Senate panel advanced a set of new congressional lines over the weekend during their second special session, similar to the ones they advanced during the first special session. The new House map needs to pass in both chambers before it can be signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R). With Democrats now back in Texas, the House will now have a quorum — the minimum number of lawmakers needed in order to conduct business — and Republicans will be able to proceed on passing their maps. Texas Democrats had signaled they would return to the state after Texas lawmakers adjourned from their first special session Friday and once California Democrats' introduced their own set of congressional lines aimed at neutralizing expected gains Republicans will make with the new Texas map. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Axios
6 hours ago
- Axios
Texas Senate passes bill banning delta-8 THC
The Texas Senate on Tuesday advanced a bill banning delta-8 THC in consumable products while allowing low, nonintoxicating levels of THC and CBD to stay on the market. Why it matters: If the bill becomes law, it would impact Texas business owners who produce THC variants and would remove the products from shelves statewide. Driving the news: The bill passed 22-8 on its final reading Tuesday with no deliberation on the floor, just days into the second special legislative session called by Gov. Greg Abbott this year. Flashback: After passing the Senate in the first special session, the bill died when House Democrats broke quorum in protest of Abbott's push for congressional redistricting. Catch up quick: The 2019 Texas farm bill legalized 0.3% THC in consumable products like vapes, edibles and bud. The bill also legalized chemical variations of THC, like delta-8. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has pushed for a full ban on hemp-derived consumable products, which passed both the Texas Senate and House during the regular legislative session this spring.
