Blue city resident fights back against migrant plan: This is not a dictatorship
Chicago resident Linda Johnson tells ‘America’s Newsroom’ that city leadership is trying to put a ‘Band-Aid on a leaking fountain’ with migrant housing solutions.
Chicagoans are enraged after it was revealed the city plans to house hundreds of migrants at a local park, displacing youth and senior programs as the Windy City continues to battle an influx of illegal immigrants.
Linda Johnson was one of the hundreds of residents who attended a protest against the move on Tuesday. She joined "America's Newsroom" to discuss why she is outraged by the intention to re-purpose Amundsen Park field.
"They're trying to put a Band-Aid on a leaky fountain, and the thing about that, it does not work and they don't have a plan," she said Friday. "Now, mind you, it is unfair to those that are coming in, and it's unfair to us that they are displacing in the park district."
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A group of migrants and members of the public wait in line outside an Illinois Department of Human Services office on Sept. 25, 2023, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
"They're not thinking in terms of how many mothers have the kids that come down from a school just right up the hill to the park and stay there until they get off work," she continued. "They're not concerned about senior citizens that may have health challenges and walk into the park on day basis just to have fellowship, because they may not have kids or family members that visit them on a regular basis."
Chicago Alderman Chris Taliaferro confirmed Monday the city plans to shelter 200 migrants at the field, which residents claim will impact a youth football team and various senior programs.
Taliaferro's statement clarified he "strongly opposed" the proposal.
"This proposal disregards the issues of public safety that are of great neighborhood concern and that our police department has been working tirelessly to turn around. It overlooks the programming that is enjoyed by our senior and youth residents that actively utilize the park," the statement read.
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He continued, "The proposal further disregards democracy whereby the residents and their locally elected officials have an opportunity to discuss the issues before decisions are made that would impact their lives. It takes away valuable neighborhood resources from a community that, in part, had been disinvested in for decades. It is because of these reasons and the fact that viable alternatives are available, that I strongly oppose closing Amundsen Park to house migrants seeking asylum."
"My thing is, we pay taxes here, and they didn't even consider talking to us before they snatched the park from us," Johnson said Friday. "You can't just take our park without talking to us, and then you expect to take the pacifier out of our mouth and us not holler and not scream?"
"Our concern is that if you are a public figure, you have a right to talk to the gatekeepers in that community. You did not do that," she continued. "You just made a decision without our input."
About 400 Chicagoans gathered to protest the move on Tuesday, speaking out and voicing their concerns on the decision they say was made without their knowledge.
"It makes us look like the bad guy. We're not the bad guy, but what happened to us is total disrespect," one resident said.
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Johnson reiterated the notion that city officials should be consulting residents before making major decisions that could impact the community, using their own tax dollars, as it pertains to public safety.
"We pay taxes for the parks, schools and everything," she continued. "And the thing about us paying taxes, my kids, not even in public school now. Take it off my bill. But you don't. But to make a decision without the community is blatant disrespect."
"This is not a city where you could dictate to us," Johnson said. "You cannot just be a dictatorship to the people in the community. I'm retired. I've got time for this. I am going to make some noise."
"I'm going to fight for our city," she continued.
FOX News' Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
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