Chicago reporter kicked out of luxury migrant hotel warns ‘in the dark’ residents in for a ‘ticking time bomb’

Chicago reporter William J. Kelly issued a dire warning after he was prohibited from entering a luxury migrant hotel this week, claiming it is a “ticking time bomb” that could spread violence and ratchet up the Windy City’s already-rampant crime rate.

Kelly asserted that public safety is at risk and that Chicago residents are not being told about the hotel at all. Hotel workers were hostile when he tried to enter the establishment and did not want him to see what was going on there.

He spoke with employees at the Inn of Chicago, asking them for details concerning the status of the hotel. He was informed in an allegedly hostile manner that it was closed and he was not welcome there since he wasn’t a “resident.”

(Video Credit: Fox News)

The reporter told “Fox & Friends First” on Friday about the contentious exchange. He asserted that he is concerned about the hotel being used as a migrant facility and explained how it could impact crime in Chicago.

“It is very disturbing,” Kelly told co-host Ashley Strohmier. “This is right off of Michigan Avenue. We already have the retailers fleeing due to violent crime. Tourists obviously have flatlined in the city of Chicago. Hotels are struggling, and this luxury hotel is apparently being used to house migrants.”

“The city of Chicago isn’t talking about this at all, so Chicago residents are being kept completely in the dark,” he stated. “We really have a ticking time bomb here, something… tragic could happen at the hotel. Something could spill out onto Michigan Avenue. We are entering Chicago’s notorious murder season, and we already have an out-of-control crime problem. The police are understaffed, and our new mayor doesn’t seem to have a plan.”

Kelly recorded the exchange after an employee told him the location was “private.”

He got into it with the staff at the hotel, arguing the location was a hotel and he saw other people go inside, so why couldn’t he? One employee told him, “You cannot come in,” and after a back and forth took place, said, “It’s closed for you.”

“It’s a private area, so therefore it’s private,” an employee arrogantly told Kelly. “You’re not a resident here.”

The reporter noted that the expensive hotel is completely closed to the public. After interviewing a number of immigrants, he found out that most of them are from Venezuela.

Kelly, who is by no means a fan of outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot, pointed out that Chicago is on the hook for a lot of money to house the illegal immigrants and all of that expense is coming out of the pockets of the city’s taxpayers.

“Mayor Lightfoot is saying that this is going to cost the taxpayers between 20 and $25 million a month,” Kelly reported. “Where is this money going? There’s never really, to my knowledge, been any accounting. We don’t really even know how many migrants are at this hotel.”

“You can be sure that… if this hotel was just being run out for the public… there’d be… city inspectors crawling all over this place to shut it down,” he charged. “But yet… as of right now, there’s nobody, no one who isn’t somehow running this very secretive operation, is even allowed inside the hotel.”

Kelly is extremely concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding the Inn of Chicago and its use of city tax dollars.

“The real questions that I have are the people who are in a very secretive way trying to corral these migrants, and also how quickly they turn hostile,” he commented. “That was the other thing that kind of shocked me was their attitude that Chicagoans almost have no right to know. They have no right to ask any questions, and the second I even asked my very first question before I even attempted to enter the hotel, they called 911.”

Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles