The Amundsen Park fieldhouse programs remain suspended as negotiations continue over the city’s proposal to use parts of the 1900 North Ausin industrial building to house asylum-seekers, and as community members remain on edge about Chicago’s plans.
The fieldhouse reopened in October, but none of the programs have returned, prompting concerns from residents, community activists and West Side elected officials.
Black residents of Galewood and Austin have said they are angry because they feel city officials focus more on assistance to migrants than on fixing the historic disinvestment in Black communities.
“I’m always for helping people, but we don’t want [the migrants] coming here and taking away the things that kids have here,” Austin resident Nikki Powell told the Austin Weekly News in early October. “I believe this park is a jewel for this community.”
Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th), whose ward includes both the park and the industrial building, said that he’s been pushing the Chicago Park District to reopen the facility to full service as soon as possible. Ald. Emma Mitts (37th) previously said that while the park is a fair distance from her ward, her family knew the park pretty well and wanted the activities to return.
On Nov. 27, the fieldhouse was open, but the staff inside confirmed that all the activities and amenities such as open gym are still on hold. They indicated that the building is only open for restrooms, and that they had no information about when the activities might resume. The park district didn’t respond to the request for comment by the deadline.
The city began exploring using the industrial building after the original plan to house up to 200 migrants from Central and South American countries at the fieldhouse faced massive community backlash. Much of that was driven by concerns about what would happen to the park programs, but there are also concerns about safety and security. The city never entirely abandoned those plans, but it paused them Oct. 9.
Taliaferro has told Austin Weekly News that he tries to update constituents on the Amundsen Park-related migrant shelter negotiations every Monday via email and social media. In a Nov. 20 update, he wrote that 1900 North Austin owner Peter Anerson was reviewing the lease “and will either submit amendments or sign the lease as written.” Taliaferro added that because he was “optimistic that the agreement was imminent,” he has been urging the mayor’s office to return the park to full staffing.
While Mitts’ ward doesn’t include any part of Austin west of Central Avenue, during her October community meeting, she said that she cared about Amundsen Park because her used to attend programs there when there were growing up, and her grandchildren were now following suit. She said it was an “injustice” to take away a facility that “where the programs are being housed.”
“This community is trying to build, we’re trying to do better than we used to have,” Mitts said. “We’re trying to have hope, a little pride, a little dignity about our neighborhood.”
The plan to house migrants in the fieldhouse was announced Sept. 29. Taliaferro maintained that the parks weren’t a good fit, whether it’s using a fieldhouse as shelter or using the park grounds for a tent city. Following the heavily attended Oct. 3 meeting, where the majority of attendees expressed opposition, and rallies outside the park grounds later that week and the following Monday, the plan was “put on hold.” Taliaferro said that the plan was never completely taken off the table.
More than 21,700 asylum-seekers and migrants from Central and South America have arrived in Chicago since August 2022, when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bussed them to the city. It has placed a strain on social services and left people scrambling to find them housing as winter approaches.
