The mayor of Bloomington said he's glad the community had the discussion about spending public dollars on services to migrants who might be bused from the border to central Illinois. Mboka Mwilambwe said he's also pleased the McLean County Board rejected the proposed ban on such spending last week.
"The message, as laid out by the vote, I think is a good message. We're simply going to try as a community to be as welcoming as possible," said Mwilambwe.
He said it’s unclear what the city’s role might be in supporting social service agencies if buses of migrants do begin to arrive, though there has been preliminary planning.
“It's a very complicated situation. We don't really know exactly how many people would end up here. Is it a busload? Is it two? Is it three? We already have some that kind of trickled into the community. We're just going to do the best that we can. The one thing that's been good about those conversations, when we started hearing that was a possibility, is that we've had a chance to talk about the what ifs, who would do what, but without necessarily having a ton of specifics,” Mwilambwe said on WGLT's Sound Ideas.
Housing and health are potential needs of migrants. And he said the city could have a role in connecting people to services.
“Folks like The Immigration Project, because they know where those people are, and work with those folks. In other cases, it could be working with groups such as the Salvation Army. There's a possibility of vouchers for hotel rooms. That can be a pretty expensive proposition. But if it's for a couple of days, or or something like that, you know, like a temporary stay for four people until they figure out where else they could go,” said Mwilambwe.
“We do have the mobile care unit, the partnership that we've created with Carle, that is another possibility.”
If buses of people from the southern border do come to central Illinois, Mwilambwe said the community should remember they are somebody's mothers, brothers, daughters, and sons.
"All of us, in one way, shape, or form, migrated here at one point or another. And I think we would have liked to have the opportunity for someone to extend their hand and to help us," said Mwilambwe, adding migrant arrivals also could help address community challenges.
"We have issues with workforce. And that could be an opportunity for us to look into and to send a message that yes, we're here, and we welcome people, and we'll work with them," he said.
2023 recap and 2024
The City of Bloomington has several major projects in the works for 2024, including higher levels of road resurfacing — more than $10 million this year — and spending on other infrastructure.
"We will certainly kick start water system improvement. That's a pretty big lift and but one that is very important for the community," said Mwilambwe, who also is eager for the council to make funding decisions on the Downtown Streetscape plan.
The mayor said he's excited to bring the O'Neil Park and library renovation projects across the finish line.
Last year was a good one for the city, said Mwilambwe, noting he's particularly pleased at the progress on O'Neil Park and the library renovation that will cross the finish line this year.
"I feel pretty good and pretty proud. When you are able to renovate buildings and offer something good it draws attention. The west side of the library was done and we're looking to finish up the east side of the library, which is great," said Mwilambwe.
He said O'Neil Poolwill be ready to open by Memorial Day.
“It was nice for me to see people on social media excited about the skate park being open, and the pool itself, the Aquatic Center,” said Mwilambwe, adding it's also good to see the downtown arena come back to life.
“We're having quite a few events there. The lights have gone back on after COVID. We changed the model a little bit, going internally [for management], and I think it has worked out pretty well. I look forward to what's going to happen in the future,” he said.
