A 3-year-old child has died while aboard a bus that was carrying asylum-seekers being sent to Chicago, the Illinois Department of Public Health said.
The Chicago Tribune reported that state health department spokeswoman Lauri Sanders confirmed the child had died Thursday while the bus was entering the Chicago area. Sanders was unable to provide more information regarding the cause of the child’s death.
“IDPH is working with local health officials, state police and federal authorities to the fullest extent possible to get answers in this tragic situation,” Sanders said in a statement Thursday evening.
The Tribune also reported that Chicago has received more than 12,000 people in the last 11 months aboard at least 176 buses. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began authorizing migrants to be sent from Texas last year. Other cities across the U.S. have also sent buses with migrants to Chicago including Denver and San Antonio.
The large number of migrants who have arrived in Chicago have stretched city resources with individuals filling large shelters and, in some cases, being housed inside police stations.
The Tribune also wrote that at the beginning of August, nearly 6,000 migrants were residing in city-run temporary shelters. About 1,000 others are awaiting placement.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and others have criticized the groups that are sending buses of migrants to a city that is already battling a low supply of resources. Lightfoot has called out Abbott multiple times and has demanded that he stop plans to continue busing migrants. Abbott has also been responsible for sending buses with migrants to other cities like Sacramento.
