The mayor of Evanston, a liberal suburb near north Chicago, wants to get a share of a 20 million dollar county grant in order to convert an abandoned building into a new shelter for migrants. This is in an effort to take migrants from the hands of Chicago officials.

Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss announced that he would apply for a grant from Cook County’s newly created $100 million “disaster recovery and response” fund. Of this, $20 million will be set aside to assist migrants. This money is to help Biss rehab unused office space near Church Street and Oak Avenue. Biss plans to convert the building into a migrant shelter and transition center that can house up to 60 illegal border-crossers.

The county fund was established in November 2023 in order to encourage the suburbs to offer their jurisdictions for the migrant housing games that are causing Chicago to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in tax money.

Biss presented his idea of applying for some funds to the Evanston City Council hoping to convince the council to publicly “buy in” and agree to the idea.

A memo about the plan stated that “on the one hand this could be a benefit to the City, as we are seeing increased migration due to climate change or other reasons.” On the other hand it could put a significant strain on the city.

Biss wants to be a beacon that left-wingers can point at in approval as they push suburbs to accept illegals. This idea has been met with silence across the county. Since November, the so-called “disaster recovery and response” fund is available. However, few suburbs are taking advantage of it.

Evanston’s plan lacks specifics. Although the memo stated that it could cost $2 million per year, there is no way to know for sure. The costs to add a fire-suppression, bathrooms and showers, sleeping rooms, and other upgrades are also being questioned. Costs would be in the millions and it is not known how much money will come from county funds, and how much will come from Evanston taxpayers.

The project is not very effective at relieving the pressure Chicago faces in caring for illegal immigrants, as only 60 to 65 migrants are expected to be housed once the facility opens.

Alison Leipsiger, Evanston’s policy coordinator, admitted that the amount felt like a “drop in the bucket”. “But these 60 people need a place of their own.”

Evanston, however, is a suburb that has a very liberal reputation. If Mayor Biss wants to use this as an added political feather, then it’s likely it will happen, despite its costs.

Northwestern University is located in the city. It has always been a strong advocate of far-left ideas. Evanston was the first U.S. town to pass “reparations,” for its black residents, only a few short years ago.

In 2013, the city was one of only a few that enacted a “ban on assault weapons.”

Recently, the left-wing council of the city floated a motion demanding a cessation of hostilities in Israel, which triggered an ethics complaint filed against the city’s Equity and Empowerment Commission.