I have been following the reporting on the Brighton Park tent camp project and read both the article and the editorial in the Wednesday, Dec. 6 edition of the Sun-Times. I spent 40 years as an industrial real estate broker and never once do I recall a client beginning a project without a clean Environmental Report.
In the editorial, it is mentioned that “the governor’s office…is working with the Archdiocese of Chicago to find more options.” With the Catholic school and parish consolidations perhaps there are unused schools (and maybe even churches) that could be retrofitted to house the migrants in need of housing. More bathrooms would probably have to be added but these buildings are heated!
Greg Wernisch, Highland Park
Tent camps a waste of taxpayer money
Will the taxpayers ever find out how much money was wasted on the Brighton Park tent camp for migrants? It’s not surprising that our state and city are broke. Even though Mayor Brandon Johnson knew there was a good chance that the site was contaminated because of prior industrial use, he still moved forward instead of waiting for the environmental report. What a financially irresponsible act.
I have a better idea. There are vacant schools in Chicago which contain all the necessary facilities to safely house the immigrants. No environmental reports are necessary.
Mike Kirchberg, Little Italy
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Closed schools are cheaper than tents
It is beyond me how the city can build “tent base camps” when there are unused school buildings which have heating, plumbing, including showers, and far more security than any tent will ever have. Yes, they would need renovations to get them ready for occupancy, but at far less cost than the tents envisioned by city leaders. Additionally, when the migrants move on, they could be used to house the homeless. This would be a much better use for scarce taxpayer dollars.
Ken Weiss, Palatine
What about unused beds from pandemic?
This might be a solution, in regards to the Brighton Park migrant camp debacle. What ever happened to all those beds set up in McCormick Place for use for COVID-19 cases? If they are all still there, unused, couldn’t we use that as a possible solution? Calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson to answer.
Christie Degen-Orzechowski, Palos Heights
What’s not to like about using schools for migrants?
Ongoing reportage on how City Hall is responding to the migrant situation lays bare what can only be called bureaucratic incompetence. Clearly there was no, or scant, advance planning as this need became apparent.
As other readers have written, with shuttered schools lying vacant, rather than spend millions erecting tents for migrants, why not simply reactivate as many schools as are needed? Or is someone in the mix getting a “finders fee” from the tent providers? The only ongoing expense would be for heat and water, cheaper than for the proposed tents.
Replace desks with coat racks, and provide curtaining with cots and coat racks, same as for tents. Many schools even have kitchen and eating facilities. Tents need the added ongoing expense of porta-potties, whereas the schools would not. Migrants themselves could move desks to school basements and provide the necessary cleaning tasks. What’s not to like?
Ted Z. Manuel, Hyde Park
