Heavy metal contamination has been found at a controversial site for a proposed migrant tent camp in Brighton Park, according to Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th).
In an interview, Ramirez said Wednesday that the city plans to clean up the pollution and will soon provide additional details.
Mayor Brandon Johnson is moving forward with a planned winterized shelter for as many as 2,000 asylum-seekers despite numerous protests from residents saying they don’t want the camp.
The 11-acre site has a long history of industrial use, the Sun-Times reported last month.
The property, previously owned by a railroad company, at one point included a zinc smelter, an operation that uses heat and chemicals to extract metals, historic records show.
City officials declined to comment, and the extent of the contamination was not disclosed.
City Hall is expected to release a report on the environmental status next week, Ramirez said, adding that she is requesting from Johnson some form of an agreement that would benefit the community if the camp is built.
Soil testing has been underway at the privately owned industrial site as part of Johnson’s plan to shelter newly arrived migrants, most of them arriving on buses from Texas.
The city is leasing the site and working to prepare it for the shelter amid residents’ protests over the last month.
The property is owned by Barnacres, an entity connected to city contractor Sanchez Paving in Markham.
Scores of residents have marched and demonstrated in opposition to plans for the site, and about a dozen protesters temporarily blocked construction crews this week.
Ramirez has taken a lot of heat from her constituents over the plan.
Though the city has said the land appears to be “viable” for use as a winterized tent camp for migrants, the pollution testing is necessary to determine if the area is safe for human health.
The land is zoned for heavy manufacturing use. It is surrounded by residential areas.
“It seems obvious to us that people should not live on industrial sites,” said Anthony Moser, a member of the group Neighbors for Environmental Justice. “Even if they can clean the toxic metal out of the soil, it will still not be safe.”
More than 25,000 migrants have been bused or flown to Chicago, mostly from Texas, since August of 2022. Handling the large numbers of new arrivals has been a challenge for the city and a strain on its resources.
Work on another possible migrant camp site at 115th and Halsted also is underway.
Last week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the state will fund a tent shelter and provide other assistance to asylum-seekers entering the city.
Johnson has said he will begin removing migrants from temporary shelters in January.
