By Dee Longfellow
In last week’s issue, the Elmhurst Independent reported that a bus of 58 migrants from Texas stopped at the Elmhurst Metra station, purchased tickets for all passengers and boarded the 9:13 p.m. train to Chicago.
Then later, another bus with 33 migrants stopped at the Elmhurst station. That group boarded the 11:15 p.m. Metra train to Chicago.
Still later, Clarendon Hills Village officials said buses had also dropped people at the Hinsdale and Westmont train stations. At that time, reports indicated that people were going to shelters in downtown Chicago.
The county has now issued a release pledging to ensure safe passage for those seeking asylum in Chicago. The release reads as follows:
“The DuPage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (OHSEM) is working closely with local and regional part-ners to ensure asylum seekers who have been arriving on out-of-state buses are transported to the city of Chicago.”
“Our primary goal is to help these new arrivals get to their destination in the city as safely, and with as few delays, as possible,” said County Board Chair Deb Conroy. “We are grateful for the collaboration with state, regional, and local officials, who have been enormously helpful in ensuring the safety and security of those arriving in DuPage County, as well as our residents.”
Since Dec. 14, 49 buses have arrived at train stations in DuPage County contain-ing 2,081 passengers, ac-cording to DuPage OHSEM. They boarded trains to Chi-cago, where city teams guid-ed them to Chicago’s “land-ing zone,” which is the only designated location in the state of Illinois for asylum seekers.
Residents who would like to assist asylum seekers by donating food, clothing, or small household items or to learn more about the require-ments for sheltering, visit chicago.gov/support.
