Residents outraged with state, local officials as Democrat Gov. Pritzker points finger at Texas for migrant surge
Chicago resident says locals are ‘so angry,’ will turn on Democrats
Chicago resident Cata Truss outlines her frustrations with local, state and federal leaders’ handling of the migrant crisis.
While Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker pointed fingers towards Texas, Chicago residents are tearing into city officials over their handling of the migrant crisis.
One longtime resident defended Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott amid the wave of illegal immigration, warning the crisis is pushing her away from Democrats in the next election.
"I just listened to the soundbite with Governor Pritzker, who wants to blame Governor Abbott, but I think that we have to be realistic in thinking about what the state of Texas was going through before they began bussing migrants here," Cata Truss said on "The Faulkner Focus," Thursday.
"And I don't think we really think about this. So we're looking at it now as Chicagoans, receiving migrants from the state of Texas, but imagine what it must be like in the state of Texas on a daily basis where people are arriving."
Greg Abbott (Twitter/Greg Abbott)
During a city council meeting, Wednesday, residents sounded off on Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson and local leaders over the massive influx of migrants. Some critics accused officials of prioritizing migrants over the city's minority communities.
"Downtown has three to four illegal families on every block begging for work and selling Kit-Kat bars after $1 billion was spent on them," Zoey Lee said during the meeting.
"Where is that money? Where is the money for the South Side and the West Side communities? Not another dollar for the illegals. If the crisis is so bad, the City Council members who are so concerned should donate their salaries to the cause like a real public servant should."
"We’re going to get them out of our communities because they don’t deserve to be there," resident Jessica Jackson said.
That same day, the state's Democratic governor shifted blame for the crisis to Texas during his State of the State address.
"Abbott willfully planned the arrival of these individuals in locations and at times that would engender the maximum chaos for the city of Chicago," Pritzker said.
"Think about that the next time a politician from Texas wants to lecture you about being a good Christian… They shouldn't leave it to the governor of Texas who has no goal but to sow chaos and destruction."
City and state officials have approved hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to feed, clothe and house more than 35,000 migrants who have been transported to Chicago and its suburbs in the past year and a half. State and local officials have spent millions for migrant programs.
CHICAGO MAYOR JOHNSON ABRUPTLY ENDS MEETING WITH NEWSPAPER AFTER REFUSING TO SPEAK ON THE RECORD
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker arrives to deliver his State of the State and budget address before the General Assembly at the Illinois State Capitol, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, in Springfield, Ill. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via AP)
"We're so angry here in Chicago, which has been a Democratic stronghold for most of its eternity. This year, we're working to turn Chicago red," Truss said, echoing the frustrations of residents in the city council meeting.
"We are so angry with Pritzker and with President Biden and with our mayor, that we have decided that we are going to vote Republican this time around. That's just how angry we are. We are so angry that we are willing and going to turn our backs on the Democratic Party."
Another speaker at the meeting demanded "not another dollar for illegals" after Pritzker announced plans to allocate an additional $252 million to support Chicago's response to the migrant crisis.
While state officials have spent millions, Mayor Johnson and the city of Chicago are still on the hook for about $70 million to cover costs associated with providing services for illegal immigrants.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson gives an update on migrant issues at City Hall on Jan. 29, 2024, in Chicago. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
"I voted for Brandon Johnson because I knew him. I voted for Brandon Johnson because I thought that he would be good for Chicago. I voted for Brandon Johnson because really, I didn't do my homework," Truss said.
"Because had I done my homework and paid attention to the alliances and who he was with and who groomed him, I would have known better, and I would have voted differently."
Truss offered a challenge to Black voters not only in Chicago, but across the nation.
"It is time for us to stand up and to vote our self-interests. We vote along party lines, especially as African Americans, and that needs to change," she said.
"We need to start voting for people who are going to promote our self-interests. And that may not be a Democrat, and it may not be a Republican. It may be an independent candidate, it may be a Green Party candidate. But I think that now we have come to a point in this country where we have to stop marrying ourselves to a party, stop voting along ethnic lines, because we're seeing that that is not working for us. And so that is why I will be voting Republican for the first time."
Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
Madeline Coggins is a Digital Production Assistant on the Fox News flash team with Fox News Digital.
