Chicago residents in MAGA hats tear into Democrat mayor for allotting $70million to migrants: 'We need the money more than they do!'

Livid Chicago residents dressed in MAGA hats tore into the city's mayor for allotting $70million to migrant care.  

Concerned citizens spoke directly to Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday during a gathering where officials were originally expected to vote on funding for migrant services in the Windy City. 

Johnson, a progressive, has long defended the city's sanctuary policies and on Friday, he planned to get the aldermen to accept the requested funds, even though the city has already invested $300million on the crisis. 

One woman, dressed in a red MAGA cowboy hat and a 'Chicago RED' t-shirt slammed Johnson and said: 'We need that money in my neighborhood, we need that money on my block.' 

'So I'm asking ya'll to use our tax money for our people, we need it,' she added.

However, the meeting ended without a vote as the city's aldermen deferred a decision on the request for funds. 

Angry Chicago residents blasted Mayor Brandon Johnson during a meeting on Wednesday where he planned to get $70million in taxpayer's money to go toward migrants. (pictured: A woman speaking to Johnson at the meeting) 

While frustrated residents insisted the money is needed elsewhere, others told Johnson that if they are not listened to, they will vote him out of office. The mayor said that the 'extreme right wing' in the US is 'intimidated' 

The city has already invested $300million on the migrant crisis. (pictured: Migrants forced to sleep in Chicago police stations earlier on in the crisis)

While frustrated residents insisted that the money is needed elsewhere, others warned Johnson that if the funds go toward migrants, they will vote him out of office. 

'Vote for the money for these immigrants today and we coming for those seats, you can believe that,' another woman said during the meeting. 

Following the meeting, Johnson laughed about the citizen's threatening to recall him and insisted that past mayors have done worse. 

'We've had mayors close schools, we've had mayors who have shut down public housing,' he said. 

'So any individual who is somehow insulted by this progressive agenda that is being led by one of the most diverse cabinets in the history of Chicago — I just call into question anyone who would be motivated to see this type of transformation disrupted,' Johnson added. 

The challenged mayor added the 'extreme right wing' in the US is 'intimidated by the fact that we’ve passed paid time off [for] thousands of workers. We’ve abolished sub-minimum wage, which has its roots in history in slavery.' 

Currently, Johnson cannot be kicked out of office under Illinois state law, which only allows the governor to be recalled. The mayor made it clear that he plans 'to be here for the next 23 years.' 

Dan Boland, 58, a former technology salesman, has formed a political action group to raise money to challenge the state law. 

Other concerned Chicagoans made it clear that they will not stand for the having their tax money going toward migrants

Venezuelan migrants are bused into Chicago by Texas Governor Greg Abbott this past December. More than 25,300 migrants have arrived in Chicago since August 2022

Boland told Chicago Sun Times that the petition, which would put a referendum on the November ballot, was not created to 'hurt' Johnson, but was introduced to 'help and empower' Chicago citizens. 

'We can’t let Chicago circle the rim for another three years,' Boland said. 'We need to get out of this cycle and fix things… if [Johnson] can’t fix it, we need to get someone in there who can.' 

Boland expressed that people of Chicago are also concerned about the rampant crime that has taken over since migrants entered. 

'People can't go out and even go to the grocery store without getting mugged. People can't sell their tamales out on the street without getting accosted by people who are armed,' Boland said. 

'These are armed juvenile thugs. That's one reason that just put it over the top for me.' 

If Johnson does get the $70million approved, it would be taken from the city's 2022 fund balance, Budget Director Annette Guzman said in a statement on Monday. 

This was not the first time angry Chicagoans have ripped into Mayor Johnson, as another woman was filmed berating him over the city's 'sanctuary' status for migrants and the progressive's failure to bring funds to more at-risk communities.

During a meeting in December, Chicago native Lauren Lawrence lamented how she and others have witnessed a 'transition' that left citizens in the lurch, almost 'as if a lot of people are not important here.'

A Chicago resident was filmed berating Mayor Brandon Johnson in December over the city's current 'sanctuary' status for migrants, and the politicians' failure to bring funds to inner city communities

Speaking as Johnson stood at attention at his podium, Lawrence lamented how she has witnessed a 'transition' that has left citizens in the lurch - 'as if a lot of people are not important here'

She said: 'I'm not against anyone coming in here legally. I want to say that clearly. But for those who have not, they don't top us. They don't go before us. We're not last in line.'

'I'm not for the sanctuary city,' an emotional Lawrence at first began, before tearing into the relatively new mayor after a disastrous four years of Lori Lightfoot.

She continued: 'And the reason why I'm not for the sanctuary city is because people have waited years to come in here legally.' 

Citing the mass of arrivals and the more than 13,000 migrants currently embroiled in Chicago's shelter system, she went on to pan city officials for continuing where Lightfoot left off.

She said of asylum seekers being brought into Illinois' biggest city by the busload: 'Not just transported on these buses, dropped off in our neighborhood.'

Lawrence proceeded to turn her attention to Chicago's notorious inner city, which she painted as a victim of the city's continued sanctuary status.

She suggested Johnson - a man brought up in a suburb of Cook County - had let down these predominantly black communities, simply by continuing Lightfoot's guidance.

In March, Johnson was widely criticized for refusing to be completely transparent on how hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars had gone to the city's homeless shelters amid a migrant crisis.  

The Windy City has struggled to care for more than 34,000 asylum-seekers bussed in from the border by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. 

The city has only provided full transparency on funding for a third of the city's 27 shelters. 

Other shelters like the site in the city's Pilsen neighborhood are getting $280,000 a week, with the Ogden shelter getting $150,000 a week. These shelters are servicing 2,000 and 1,000 migrants, respectively and pocketing millions over the last three months. 

Currently, Johnson cannot be kicked out of office under Illinois state law, which only allows the governor to be recalled. The mayor made it clear that he plans 'to be here for the next 23 years' 

In March, Johnson was widely criticized for refusing to be completely transparent on how hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars had gone to the city's homeless shelters. (pictured: Migrants in a makeshift shelter operated by the city of Chicago at O'Hare International Airport in August 2023) 

At the time, Johnson joined the mayors of New York and Denver, which are also inundated with migrants, to call for the crisis to be declared a federal emergency, freeing up funds to bail out the struggling cities.

Shelters in converted warehouses in Chicago have been filled to the brim with new arrivals living in poor conditions, leading to the city commandeering other venues. 

Johnson has insisted the city would not open any more migrant shelters, and called on Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to make good on promises to build its own ones. 

Mayor Johnson himself says the huge influx of migrants is unsustainable, but he can't turn them away because Chicago is a 'sanctuary city.'

He blamed both the Biden Administration and Texas for his city struggling to care for the about 15,000 asylum-seekers crammed into 28 shelters across the city.

Governor Greg Abbott has sent more than 25,300 migrants to Chicago since August 2022, on buses.