Taxpayers forced to pay $1.3M for Chicago migrant encampment that was NEVER built

Illinois taxpayers will be forced to fork over a whopping $1.3 million for an unfinished migrant encampment, despite assurances from officials that the state wouldn’t foot the bill.

In an effort to curb the influx of migrants in Chicago, work on the shelter started  before it had a full environmental review. 

After reports revealed hazardous levels of toxins in the soil at the Brighton Park site, the project was abruptly halted in December 2023.

Now, taxpayers are responsible for the $1.3 million cost of the unfinished project, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Before construction even began, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker stated that the private contractor hired to build the shelter, GardaWorld, was ‘willing to take liability’ if the site was found to be unusable.

‘The understanding with GardaWorld is that they will do other work with us,’ Pritzker said in December 2023. 

‘And they knew, as they were building this shelter, before the environmental report came in, that it was possible that the environmental report wouldn’t allow the building – the completion, rather – of the shelter. 

‘And so they understood that, and they were willing to take that liability on through the state’s contract.’

Illinois taxpayers will be forced to fork over a whopping $1.3 million for an unfinished migrant encampment, despite assurances from officials that the state wouldn’t foot the bill. Pictured: Workers erect a tent frame as they start building Chicago’s first government-run tent encampment for migrants in the Brighton Park neighborhood on November 29, 2023

Before construction even began, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker stated that the private contractor hired to build the shelter was ‘willing to take liability’ if the site was found to be unusable

Officials with Pritzker’s office also said the company had agreed not to charge the state if the land was deemed unsafe.

However, a spokesperson for the governor has since confirmed that the state will pay GardaWorld for work already performed.

‘GardaWorld sought payment based on its claim that it performed a substantial amount of work at the State’s request,’ Pritzker spokesperson Alex Gough told WGN. 

‘The State negotiated and settled that claim in the Court of Claims.’

According to Court of Claims records, the Department of Human Services and GardaWorld agreed the company was owed the huge sum ‘for services rendered at the 38th Street and California Avenue site’ during the state budget year ending June 30, 2024. 

The settlement states the funds will serve as ‘full payment and satisfaction of all claims’ related to the site.

The payment is scheduled for the next state budget year beginning July 1, pending Pritzker’s expected signature on the spending plan, the Chicago Tribune reported.

No explanation as to why the state agreed to pay – even as it was under no legal obligation to do so – has been offered.

Officials with Pritzker’s office also said the company had agreed not to charge the state if the land was deemed unsafe. Pictured: Construction of a government-run tent encampment for migrants is underway, December 4, 2023, in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago

Despite those assurances, a spokesperson for the governor has since confirmed that the state will pay the private contractor for work already performed (pictured)

No explanation as to why the state agreed to pay – even as it was under no legal obligation to do so – has been offered. Pictured: Work progresses on Chicago’s first government-run tent encampment for migrants at a lot in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood 

Unfortunately for taxpayers, the settlement isn’t the only cost for the unused site.

The city spent an additional $1.7 million on environmental cleanup and a settlement with the property’s owner, which according to the mayor’s office will provide a ‘lasting community benefit.’

Originally proposed in the fall of 2023, the base camp was intended as a temporary solution for the surge of migrants arriving in Chicago. 

At the time, the city had received over 24,000 people, mostly from Central and South America. 

The influx overwhelmed shelters, with up to 3,800 migrants camping at police stations and O’Hare Airport during the peak, according to the Chicago Tribune.