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State Week: Tensions mount in Chicago over the migrant crisis

State Week 23 logo (capitol dome)
Brian Mackey
/
NPR Illinois

Nearly 35,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago from the southern border since August 2022, creating a crisis when it comes to finding government services.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker this week said he was "deeply concerned" the city is not adding beds for housing migrants. Mayor Brandon Johnson's office responded the state could look to other cities for creating shelters.

The back-and-forth comes as many in the Black community point out needs among their residents and a new poll shows low approval for Johnson's job performance.

We also also talk about an Illinois Supreme Court decision upholding a public pension law.

Host Sean Crawford is joined by Professor Emeritus Charlie Wheeler and the Chicago Tribune's Dan Petrella.

The former director of the Public Affairs Reporting (PAR) graduate program is Professor Charles N. Wheeler III, a veteran newsman who came to the University of Illinois at Springfield following a 24-year career at the Chicago Sun-Times.
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