The Rundown: City Council’s big fail on the migrant crisis

Plus, summer temps in Chicago might not be too crazy this year. Here’s what you need to know today.

How will the end of Title 42 impact the work of asylum and immigration judges?
Delilah Martinez owner of the Vault Gallerie in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago has used her business as a drop-off location for items of need for Venezuelan refugees on February, 2023. She makes a trip to a location that has been converted into a temporary shelter for the migrants as they secure more permanent homes. WBEZ
How will the end of Title 42 impact the work of asylum and immigration judges?
Delilah Martinez owner of the Vault Gallerie in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago has used her business as a drop-off location for items of need for Venezuelan refugees on February, 2023. She makes a trip to a location that has been converted into a temporary shelter for the migrants as they secure more permanent homes. WBEZ

The Rundown: City Council’s big fail on the migrant crisis

Plus, summer temps in Chicago might not be too crazy this year. Here’s what you need to know today.

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Good afternoon! I’m already counting down the days until the long weekend, partly because this coming Sunday marks the end of Succession. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. The City Council stumbled to respond to Chicago’s migrant housing crisis, highlighting a huge problem at City Hall

A City Council committee tasked with overseeing immigration issues didn’t meet for more than a year as city officials struggled to accommodate an influx of migrants arriving from border states, reports Block Club Chicago.

The council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights did meet late last month, but it didn’t take any action as migrants slept on the floors of police stations.

“It was just the latest example of how the City Council has often failed to respond to a critical problem impacting the safety and livelihoods of people across the city,” Block Club’s Mick Dumke reports.

Council committees “have for years been set up to protect fiefdoms, dispense political favors and silence opposition,” Dumke writes. “Even the best-run committees have largely been used to advance the agenda of whoever is mayor.” [Block Club Chicago]

Meanwhile, 400 asylum seekers could be housed at Wilbur Wright College starting June 1, according to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s chief of staff. [Chicago Sun-Times]

2. The U.S. has less than two weeks to avoid an unprecedented default on its debt

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are expected to meet this afternoon to revive negotiations over raising the nation’s debt ceiling. And they face a major time crunch.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the federal government could run out of money to pay its bills as early as June 1. And should a deal be hammered out, McCarthy said the House would need 72 hours to vote on any bill before sending it to the Senate.

House Republicans want to tie raising the debt limit to steep cuts in government spending. Progressive Democrats have balked at those demands and are pushing Biden to invoke a clause in the 14th Amendment that allows the government to continue issuing debt.

If no solution is found, a default could send the nation into a recession, increase mortgage rates and interest rates on credit cards and may cause government workers and Social Security recipients to go unpaid. [NPR]

3. El Niño is coming. But Chicago may avoid a hotter-than-average summer this year.

Meteorologists are warning this summer could be harsh with the return of El Niño, which may bring more record-breaking temperatures to large parts of the U.S.

As Chicago residents know, the weather forecast can sometimes be wildly wrong, and there is a lot of unpredictability right now in regard to El Niño, reports The Washington Post.

Having said that, the Upper Midwest could see temperatures near average during June, July and August, according to one outlook from the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center.

The rest of the Midwest may eventually see warmer-than-usual temperatures as well as large thunderstorms and damaging winds, the Post reports. [Washington Post]

4. Nearly 2 million Illinois residents live near warehouses where truck pollution poses a health risk

That’s according to a recent report from the Environmental Defense Fund, an advocacy group that found about 15 million people live within a half mile of a warehouse in 10 states it examined, reports Inside Climate News.

In Illinois, about 138,000 children under 5 live within a half mile of a warehouse, according to the report.

There has been an unprecedented proliferation of warehouses to satisfy the demand of online shoppers. Illinois has more than 2,400 warehouses, with the homes of Black, Latino, Asian and American Indian people disproportionately affected.

Fumes from trucks carry a host of potential health threats, including low birth rates, respiratory illnesses and even dementia. [Inside Climate News]

5. A new international police academy opens today in Chicago, but don’t expect any lessons on local success

The new academy will be based at the University of Chicago, and some key lessons will be taken from the successes of the New York and Los Angeles police departments — not the Chicago Police Department, reports my colleague Frank Main.

Homicide rates plummeted in New York and Los Angeles. Thirty years ago, murder rates in those cities were at historic highs but fell 80% and 90% ahead of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We haven’t seen that same success in Chicago, where murder rates have remained stagnant for 30 years. That needs to change,” said Kristen Mahoney, director of the new academy.

There have been 197 murders in Chicago this year through last week. That’s 9% fewer than during the same period last year but 20% higher than four years ago, when there were 164. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Here’s what else is happening

  • Illinois lawmakers are expected this week to finish work on a state budget and an elected school board map for Chicago. [Chicago Sun-Times]
  • Young voters played a key role in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s victory. [WBEZ]
  • There’s only one Chonkosaurus, but snapping turtles have been spotted throughout Chicago. [WBEZ]
  • A Park Ridge mother discusses the challenges she faces amid a nationwide shortage of Adderall. [WBEZ]

Oh, and one more thing …

Chicago hosted an international conference on teaching chess to detainees in jails and prisons, reports my colleague Andy Grimm.

“What they are doing [in Cook County] is outstanding. It is a great program to promote everywhere,” said International Chess Federation President Arkady Dvorkovich. “In jails, you have people who have made mistakes. Chess teaches you to avoid mistakes.”

Cook County launched its chess program for incarcerated people a little over a decade ago, when Sheriff Tom Dart was approached by his son’s chess team coach. Since then, Cook County Jail has hosted online international tournaments that draw incarcerated players from more than 40 countries. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Tell me something good …

With HBO’s Succession coming to an end on Sunday, I’d like to know: What TV show did you enjoy right up until the finale? (Please avoid spoilers.)

There’s a lot to choose from, but I’ll go with two: HBO’s Station Eleven, which I still think about, and Better Call Saul because you can tell Bob Odenkirk had a lot of fun playing lawyer Saul Goodman.

Feel free to email me, and your response might be included in the newsletter this week.