Chicago to close three migrant shelters by end of October, officials say

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The city of Chicago is closing three more migrant shelters, but officials said no one is being forced out.

The city’s move follows previous actions that reduced the number of available beds as the flow of migrants from Texas and elsewhere greatly slowed.

Officials at the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) kept thousands of extra beds in anticipation of a threatened flood of buses from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. It never came, in part, because of President Joe Biden's restrictions on border crossings.

DFSS officials said there are some 5,000 unused beds. The plan is to close Halsted and Ogden shelters by Oct. 1 and the Lakeshore Shelter by Oct. 24.

Chicago, which at one point had 26 shelters, is down to 17. People in the shelters being closed will be offered places and service at one of the remaining shelters.

City leaders said the decision to trim excess beds was made in the interest of fiscal responsibility.

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