{"id":2083030,"date":"2023-10-29T08:49:43","date_gmt":"2023-10-29T12:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/migrants-arent-overtaking-this-chicago-park-yet-but-access-is-limited-during-state-of-suspension\/"},"modified":"2023-10-29T08:53:02","modified_gmt":"2023-10-29T12:53:02","slug":"migrants-arent-overtaking-this-chicago-park-yet-but-access-is-limited-during-state-of-suspension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/migrants-arent-overtaking-this-chicago-park-yet-but-access-is-limited-during-state-of-suspension\/","title":{"rendered":"Limited access to Chicago park during &#8216;State of Suspension&#8217; for migrants."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmigrants-arent-overtaking-this-chicago-park-yet-but-access-is-limited-during-state-of-suspension%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2083030&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2>Chicago Residents Fight to Keep Fieldhouse Amid Migrant Housing Plans<\/h2>\n<p>On the afternoon of Oct. 24, the blue sky \u2062above Amundsen Park was marred by dark smoke. Something had caught on fire a few blocks away.<\/p>\n<p>A whitish haze filled the streets, dissipating as quickly as it had appeared. The fire was out.<\/p>\n<p>A Chicago Park District SUV was parked just outside the fieldhouse.\u2063 Although the building\u2019s door was open, a guard tightly controlled access. The bathroom was open, but that was pretty much it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Related Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/epochtv\/migrants-hired-to-replace-striking-workers-5517942?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><strong>Migrants Hired To Replace Striking Workers<\/strong><\/a>  &#8211; \u200b10\/26\/2023<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/sweden-urges-for-eu-wide-cooperation-on-return-of-illegal-migrants-5513173?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><strong>Sweden Urges for EU-Wide Cooperation on Return of Illegal Migrants<\/strong><\/a>  &#8211; 10\/19\/2023<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"post-figure\">\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>  Chicago&#8217;s Amundsen Park, the site of protests\u2063 over plans to take over the fieldhouse and use it as\u2064 a shelter, \u200cshutting\u2063 out residents in favor of migrants, on Oct. 24, 2023. (Nathan Worcester\/The\u200c Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>In Chicago\u2019s Galewood neighborhood,\u200b locals are putting up a fight\u2064 to keep their fieldhouse, one of many public spaces suddenly set to house thousands of migrants \u200bthat have flooded one of America\u2019s deep blue &#8220;sanctuary cities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Protests, legal filings, and negotiations over\u200c a nearby alternative mean that area residents haven\u2019t yet lost an anchor of their community to individuals who\u2064 may be in\u200d the country illegally or, in \u2064many cases, on parole under the Biden administration&#8217;s\u200b laxer immigration policies. \u2064For now, though, everything is up in the air.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt looks \u2062like the city is keeping it in a state of suspension in case they have to\u200c use it as a shelter,\u201d said Pericles \u201cPerry\u201d Abassi, a lawyer who has\u2062 been heavily involved in many aspects of the Amundsen odyssey in an Oct. 26 interview with The\u200c Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-videos\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI grew up\u2063 in Galewood,\u201d Mr. Abassi said, noting that his parents\u200c still reside in the neighborhood. He added that he and his fianc\u00e9e love the community.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\">\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>  File photo of Chicago lawyer\u2062 and Internet personality Pericles &#8220;Perry&#8221; Abassi. (Courtesy of Pericles Abassi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>29th Ward Alderman Chris \u200dTaliaferro helped\u2064 ignite fears of a fieldhouse takeover\u200c early this month. In\u2063 an Oct. 2 Facebook post and email, he wrote that Mayor Brandon Johnson\u2019s deputy chief of staff had informed him \u200cthe park would be used to house\u200b roughly 200 migrants.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI strongly oppose closing\u2063 Amundsen Park,\u201d the alderman wrote in the post. He announced a community meeting for Oct. 3 at the park.<\/p>\n<p>Similar spaces in the city, such as Broadway Armory Park, have \u200crapidly filled with \u2064migrants \u200dover recent months with little to no\u2063 resistance. But in Galewood, residents didn\u2019t roll\u2063 over.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you want to take the park away from \u200bus, \u2062why should we pay the Park District\u2019s taxes?\u201d \u2064asked Tommy \u200bSimmons, a \u2063longtime local and member of the \u2063Amundsen Park\u2063 Community Council who spoke with The Epoch Times outside the fieldhouse on Oct. 24.<\/p>\n<p>Both\u2064 Mr. Simmons and Mr. Abassi have worked to elect Ald. Taliaferro in the past, but Mr. Simmons has soured on him. In \u200cMr. Simmons\u2019 \u2062view, the ongoing dispute over \u200dAmundsen reflects the alderman\u2019s\u200c poor working relationship with Mayor Johnson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe [Mr. Taliaferro] wants to blame it on the\u200b mayor,\u201d Mr. Simmons said.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds\u200b of Galewood residents flocked\u200b to the Oct. 3 meeting, where\u2062 they made\u2064 their opposition known. Activist Mark \u2062Weyermuller caught the \u200bmoment when \u200dmembers of the Windy City Dolphins, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/steelers-host-youth-football-team-at-camp-after-players-lose-teammate-in-explosion\/\" title=\"Steelers welcome youth football team to camp after tragic explosion claims teammate.\">youth football program<\/a>\u200c at\u2062 risk of displacement from the park, \u2062walked through the meeting.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"mb-4\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>Worry\u200c and Anger<\/h2>\n<p>Worry \u2063and anger only mounted \u200dwith\u2062 an Oct. 7 draft email from city \u2063officials. Citing an \u201cever<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ukraines-only-woman-rabbi-among-the-many-jews-fleeing-russian-invasion\/\" title=\"Ukraine\u2019s Only Woman Rabbi Among the Many Jews Fleeing Russian Invasion\">-growing humanitarian crisis<\/a>,\u201d the\u2062 letter to \u2064local\u200c parents and community members announced that \u201cthe city will be using Amundsen Park as a temporary shelter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The email announced that park programming would be moved from the fieldhouse \u200bstarting Oct. 10,\u200c just days\u2063 later. It indicated that,\u200b in some cases, activities could \u2063be relocated to places miles away\u2014for example, Hiawatha Park, more than 5 miles from Amundsen Park by car as measured\u200c by Google Maps. In \u200bChicago, the problem of \u2063distance is compounded\u200b by\u200c gang rivalries, which can jeopardize\u2064 the safety\u2064 of kids who venture far from their block.<\/p>\n<p>Locals swiftly sought a restraining order. They invoked the same public trust doctrine that has kept the\u2064 city\u2019s lakefront an oasis of\u2064 parkland in a dense urban environment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe needs\u200d of the children \u200band families\u200d in the Austin community\u2064 have been ignored, while the needs of\u200b the\u2064 migrants have been prioritized,\u201d the \u2064complaint reads.<\/p>\n<p>The case is now\u2064 working its way through Cook County court.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\">\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>  \u2062Thomas Simmons sits in Chicago&#8217;s Amundsen Park,\u2064 on Oct. 24, 2023. (Nathan Worcester\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>In the\u200d meantime, the city started looking into \u2063an alternative to the Amundsen fieldhouse, a warehouse and office complex at 1900 N. Austin Ave., where \u200cZenith televisions \u2062were \u2064once produced. The complex is now home to a hodgepodge of small \u200bbusinesses, ranging\u2064 from an auto collision center\u200b to a spa.<\/p>\n<p>In an Oct. 19 \u200bFacebook post, Mr. Taliaferro said \u200bthe city had\u200d already conducted three inspections \u2064at the site.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs far as\u200c I can tell, \u2064it\u2019s [the fieldhouse is] in a state of\u2062 suspension right now until the 1900 N. Austin thing is signed,\u201d Mr. Abassi said, noting that nothing \u2062is set in stone yet.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>Peter Arenson, the\u2062 owner of that property, is a\u2064 client of Mr. Abassi. Mr. Arenson declined to comment to The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<h2>Protests Resonate<\/h2>\n<p>Whatever happens, the resistance in Galewood has made a mark,\u200d both in and beyond the tight-knit neighborhood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmundsen really did seem to change the citywide conversation,\u201d Mr. Abassi said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince then, any kind of hearing, whether public or private, \u200cpeople come out to them, and they\u2019re almost totally opposed,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Outside the fieldhouse on\u2063 Oct. 24, \u2063another Galewood resident, Kieron Scott, explained why he objected to the city\u2019s initial plans for Amundsen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u200b don\u2019t \u200chave anything against the migrants.\u2062 We just don\u2019t want the programs to leave,\u201d the retired United Parcel Service worker told The Epoch Times. He was walking his nine-year-old dog, Duke,\u2064 in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/warm-winter-weather-bails-out-biden-causes-natural-gas-prices-to-fall\/\" title=\"Warm Winter Weather Bails Out Biden, Causes Natural Gas Prices To Fall\">unseasonably warm weather<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\">\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>  Kieron Scott, one of many residents who object to plans that could see hundreds\u2063 of migrants claiming Amundsen&#8217;s fieldhouse and displacing local programming, walks his dog, Duke, through Chicago&#8217;s Amundsen Park, on Oct. 24, 2023. (Nathan Worcester\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThey [the migrants] are here. They need to be housed. But they don\u2019t\u200d need \u200dto be in [public] parks,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Like Mr. Abassi and Mr. Simmons, he\u2064 has deep roots in the neighborhood. \u2062He told The Epoch Times he has lived in the vicinity for two decades.<\/p>\n<p>The connection doesn\u2019t end with him. Three of his grandsons are \u200din the area, and \u200byears ago, his son was on the Windy City Dolphins.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople take pride\u2064 in where \u2063they live at, you know?\u201d\u2064 he said.<\/p>\n<p>He, too, couldn&#8217;t predict\u2062 how the state of suspension will end. But \u200bhe expects the people of Galewood to continue resisting as long as they can. That includes more protests that could resonate across the country in the midst \u200bof an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/reacting-to-furious-leftist-backlash-psaki-blames-reaction-to-bidens-refugee-policy-on-confusion\/\" title=\"Reacting To Furious Leftist Backlash, Psaki Blames Reaction To Biden\u2019s Refugee Policy On \u2018Confusion\u2019\">ongoing migrant crisis<\/a> and with chaotic scenes still unfolding at the southern border.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re here \u2018till the end. This is our community. This is our neighborhood,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Taliaferro and the city did not respond to multiple requests for comment\u200d from The\u200d Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What implications could the outcome of the conflict over Amundsen Park have on the ongoing national conversation about immigration\u200c and the \u200cinvolvement of local communities in \u200bshaping related policies<\/h2>\n<p><span>  The residents of Chicago&#8217;s Galewood \u2063neighborhood are fighting\u2062 to keep their beloved fieldhouse amidst controversial plans to use\u200b it as a shelter for thousands of migrants. Protests, legal battles, and negotiations have created a stalemate, preventing the loss of a crucial community space to individuals who may be in \u200cthe country illegally or on parole under the Biden administration&#8217;s more \u200blenient\u2062 immigration policies. \u200dHowever, the future\u2063 of the fieldhouse remains uncertain.<\/p>\n<p>Pericles &#8220;Perry&#8221; Abassi, a lawyer deeply involved in the Amundsen odyssey,\u2063 expressed\u2064 his concern and\u200c frustration \u200dduring \u200dan\u2064 interview with The Epoch Times on October \u200c26. \u200bAbassi has strong ties to \u2063the neighborhood, having grown up in Galewood, and his parents\u2062 still reside there. He emphasized the importance of the fieldhouse in the\u200b community and criticized the city for keeping its fate in limbo.<\/p>\n<p>The controversy began when 29th Ward Alderman Chris Taliaferro raised the alarm\u200b about\u2063 the fieldhouse being used as a migrant shelter.\u200c In an\u2064 October \u200c2 social\u200b media \u200cpost and email, Taliaferro revealed that Mayor Brandon Johnson&#8217;s deputy chief of staff had informed him about the plans\u200c to house approximately 200\u2062 migrants in \u200bthe\u200d park. The alderman vehemently opposed closing Amundsen Park and organized a\u200d community meeting on\u200b October 3 to address the issue.<\/p>\n<p>The fight to keep the fieldhouse has become a symbol of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/migrants-arent-overtaking-this-chicago-park-yet-but-access-is-limited-during-state-of-suspension\/\" title=\"Limited access to Chicago park during 'State of Suspension' for migrants.\">larger debate\u2063 surrounding immigration\u2063 policies<\/a> and the role of sanctuary cities like Chicago. While some argue that providing shelter and support to migrants aligns\u2064 with the \u2062city&#8217;s values of inclusivity \u200dand compassion, others worry\u2063 about the potential strain on \u200dlocal resources and the\u200b impact on existing\u200c communities.<\/p>\n<p>The situation in Galewood reflects the broader challenges faced\u200b by many sanctuary cities grappling with the \u2062influx of migrants. The Biden administration&#8217;s efforts to create a\u2062 more welcoming environment for immigrants have sparked both praise and criticism, leading to heated \u2062debates across the\u2064 country.<\/p>\n<p>As the battle over Amundsen Park continues, residents remain\u200d determined to preserve their community&#8217;s identity and\u2064 protect their \u2063public spaces. The outcome of\u200b this\u200d conflict will have implications not only for Galewood\u200c but also for\u2062 the ongoing national conversation about immigration \u200band the role \u2063of local communities in shaping policies associated with \u200cit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Oct. 24, dark smoke marred the blue sky above Amundsen Park as something nearby caught fire. A whitish haze filled the streets, quickly dissipating. The fire was extinguished, and a Chicago Park District SUV was parked near the fieldhouse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":152,"featured_media":2083031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2083030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2083030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/152"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2083030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2083030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2083031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2083030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2083030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2083030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}