Are crowded and unsanitary conditions responsible for Chicago shelter measles outbreak?

Frontline News brought attention to 58 cases of measles spread over 17 U.S. states as of March 14, the largest outbreak numbering twelve residents in a Chicago shelter for illegal aliens. Chicagoans have been concerned because half of the illegal population in the shelter is unvaccinated. Fearing a measles epidemic in Chicago, a mass vaccination campaign was held for the illegals. 

To counter the disinformation about the lethality and danger of measles, Frontline News presented historical evidence that measles, in developed countries such as the United States, is not only not a generally non-fatal disease, but is also one of relatively low incidence. As was demonstrated, that was true even for the 2019 outbreak that saw 1274 cases, the greatest number in one year between 2010 - 2024. 

We now focus on the measles vaccine campaign to determine the effect it might have on the illegals being housed in the shelter and on native Chicagoans. 

First, some questions about the outbreak

While many of the illegals are unvaccinated and twelve residents of one shelter, the Pilsen shelter, contracted measles, there are questions to be asked —

Have substandard living conditions contributed to the outbreak?

It is known that disease proliferates in crowded and unsanitary conditions. Could this be the case in Chicago's shelters housing illegal aliens? 

A December 2023 exposé brought attention to the unsanitary housing conditions illegals in the Pilsen shelter are forced to endure. Authors Mauricio Peña, Katrina Pham, and Nissa Rhee interviewed residents at the shelter who described their deplorable living conditions for Borderless Magazine. Included in their complaints was that diseases, including chicken pox and upper respiratory infections, were running rampant without sufficient medical attention:

Maria arrived at the former warehouse turned migrant shelter in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood about two months ago. In all, it’s been a dehumanizing experience. From frigid temperatures to dirty bathrooms and sometimes spoiled food, the living conditions have been horrible, she said.

“You can’t have anything here,” Maria said. “Nothing. No privacy.“

. . . They lamented the harsh shelter conditions, including cramped living quarters, mistreatment from workers, freezing temperatures, and unsanitary bathrooms. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration did not respond to questions from Borderless Magazine.

In recent weeks, migrants described outbreaks of various illnesses, including chickenpox, the flu, and upper respiratory infections, spreading without sufficient medical attention. The experiences of migrants inside the Pilsen shelter offer a glimpse inside the city’s network of emergency shelters hurriedly opened to house the migrants being steadily sent to Chicago from the border since August 2022. (Emphases added.)

This December 20, 2023, a tweet from the Chicago Sun-Times notified X (formerly Twitter) users that a five-year-old child died in the Pilsen shelter. The Sun-Times noted the terrible living conditions and lack of medical services for people housed in the shelter:

What proportion of the illegals came down with measles? 

Chicago Sun-Times reporters Michael Loria and David Struett wrote that 2,300 people were being housed in the Pilsen shelter in December 2023, when the child died, with more than half of them minors.

The shelter population may have decreased in the ensuing months. Axios Chicago reporter Monica Eng stated that 900 people, about half of those staying in the warehouse-cum-shelter, have not been vaccinated. That means that about 1800 aliens were housed in the shelter at the time, making the case rate 0.007 or less than 1%. 

How did they contract measles? 

Eng quoted Chicago health commissioner Simbo Ige who explained that the outbreak didn't start in the shelter: 

The first case of measles in Chicago was a non-shelter resident. And those who got infected got infected because measles was circulating in Chicago.

She also wrote that two of those with measles were students in the locals schools. Since measles was going around in the city, could it be that these two students contracted the illness in school and brought it back to the crowded shelter?

Is a vaccine campaign the most effective way of dealing with a crowding and hygienic issue?

A vaccine campaign will not address the cause of the spread of disease in the shelters.  

What will happen if the deplorable living conditions in the shelter are not properly addressed?

Will newly arrived aliens housed in the Pilsen shelter be exposed to disease and infection and will the ones who leave expose Chicagoans to any illnesses they may still be harboring? 

Chicago currently has a 60-day policy limiting the amount of time that illegals can stay in the shelter. At the end of January 2024, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson issued a press release to publicize his extension of the policy by another 60 days claiming that they did not have enough case managers to help the illegals find more permanent housing. Ironically, the mayor claimed that they are prioritizing compassion and humanity and would not push anyone out into the cold.

We are extending the exit date for families due to the delay in fully staffing case management in all City shelters. With this policy extension, we are prioritizing Chicago’s values of compassion and humanity. I have said repeatedly that we are not going to push families into the cold and this policy ensures that families will remain sheltered for the duration of the winter season.

Check back for future articles on measles to learn how measles vaccination has been implicated in past measles outbreaks and what you can do if your child comes down with the illness.