Will County Gazette

Mayor Keith Ogle of the Village of Frankfort has firmly declined state funding intended for the resettlement of undocumented immigrants. Ogle maintained that neither he nor any member of the Board has been directly approached by state officials regarding such proposals.

“A notice of available funding has been very prominent in the news, but I have not been contacted directly by State Officials or General Assembly members,” Ogle told Will County Gazette. “No member of our Board has expressed any desire to take advantage of the offered funding.”

“Community members have expressed their concerns about prioritizing and diverting tax dollars to persons who have entered the country illegally, over our veterans, over immigrants who are following the proper legal process and over our own residents in need.”

Ogle’s comments come after Glen Ellyn Village President Mark Senak recently revealed that the community was offered an $11 million state grant to facilitate the permanent resettlement of illegal immigrants in the community. Senak, during the League of Women Voters Glen Ellyn 2024 State of the Village Annual Meeting on Jan. 26, disclosed that the state had offered the village a substantial grant for assisting with the settlement of migrants in Glen Ellyn.

“So you understand what I believe that $11 million is for us to have migrants come to Glen Ellyn and locate here and settle here and remain here, and what that would entail to accomplish that,” he said.

The matter was brought to attention by State Rep. Terra Costa Howard (D-Glen Ellyn), who informed the village about the availability of funds for this purpose, according to DuPage Policy Journal.

The issue of housing undocumented immigrants arriving in large numbers in the area has prompted Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to seek assistance from suburban areas with the city’s immigrant crisis. 

"He’s asking us all for support, calling out the federal government," Burr Ridge’s Mayor Gary Grasso told NBC Chicago.

Grasso also mentioned that Johnson specifically asked for increased funding support for sheltering migrants and providing necessary services, along with help from the federal government.

That request comes in response to a surge in arrivals of undocumented immigrants in the Chicagoland area starting December 2023. Concerns have escalated due to reports indicating over 34,000 undocumented immigrants have arrived in Illinois since mid-2022. This urgency has intensified calls for more robust border control measures. Last fall, Illinois allocated $42.5 million in grant funds to municipalities for housing and supporting undocumented immigrants. Lake County, Elgin, Oak Park, Urbana, and Chicago were among the recipients. In total, the state has earmarked $500 million for the care of undocumented immigrants, according to Capitol News Illinois.

During a Hinsdale Village Board meeting last month where drop-offs were prohibited, officials reported being informed by a bus driver that such instances were expected to continue through March. The frequency of daily drop-offs throughout the state has varied, often exceeding 10 instances. At times, the number of people being dropped off per day is nearly 800, as per another report from DuPage Policy Journal.