Local non-profit helps feed migrants in Elk Grove Village

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — A Chicagoland non-profit was one of several who stepped in Monday evening to help migrants who arrived at a hotel in Elk Grove Village after being shipped from Texas to Chicago.

Michael Airhart from Taste for the Homeless said he cooked dinners through the night for new arrivals and was surprised by what he saw when he arrived.

“It’s unbelievable. When I pulled up — when I first walked in — I couldn’t believe what I’d seen,” Airhart said.

90 migrants bussed from Texas to Chicago arrived in Elk Grove Village Saturday. The village’s mayor, Craig B. Johnson, said he received no advanced notice or direction from Chicago or the state of Illinois, calling the handling of the situation ‘haphazard.’

Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso joined Johnson in criticizing the lack of communication from Chicago and the state of Illinois, saying that he too received no advanced warning about the dozens of migrants sent to a hotel in his village last week.

Governor JB Pritzker responded Monday, placing the blame on Texas Governor Greg Abbott, saying Texas hasn’t given Illinois a heads up about who’s coming and when they’ll arrive.

“We’re managing as best we can,” Pritzker said. “But the governor of Texas is sowing chaos around the nation doing this.”

Texas has bussed more than 300 migrants to Chicago since the end of August.

Taste for the Homeless has prepared hot meals, as well as donated shoes, diapers and COVID test kits to migrants who have arrived in Elk Grove Village. If you would like to donate, you can call Elk Grove Village and arrange to make a donation at (847) 357-4120.