In response to questions Thursday about the status of planning for a possible surge in migrant bus arrivals at convention time, Johnson spokesman Cassio Mendoza said only, “The city of Chicago, in partnership with the state of Illinois and Cook County, is preparing for all possible eventualities in preparation for the Democratic National Convention including a sudden increase in the number of new arrivals from the southern border sent to Chicago.”

The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

As of Thursday morning, 39,568 migrants had arrived in Chicago since busing began, with 8,972 currently housed in 18 city-run shelters and another 69 asylum-seekers awaiting placement, according to city data.

The City Council this week delayed a vote on $70 million in additional funding for the migrant response that state and Cook County officials sought earlier this year as part of a three-way agreement. Aldermen are expected to take up the issue Friday. And the Cook County Board on Thursday voted to reallocate $70 million for migrants from health care costs to instead cover food services.

The tension among Democrats at various levels of government was evident in the response Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez, chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, gave to a question about how Democrats would handle attempts to use the migrant crisis to score political points during the convention.

“It’s evident that at a state level we’re doing all that we can, but we’re limited. It’s a federal issue,” Hernandez said, adding that the local, state and federal governments “have been partnering up in different ways to manage the crisis.”

“Leading into the DNC, we’ll continue to work and manage the situation and continue to press yes, at the federal level, and the Biden administration is doing all that they can,” said Hernandez, also a state representative from Cicero.

Republicans in Congress, meanwhile, have created an opportunity for Democrats to use the broader issue against the GOP, who scuttled a bipartisan immigration and border security proposal earlier this year at Trump’s behest.

“There is no doubt that at the federal level, there’s been an attempt to bring some resolution, but the Republicans shut that down,” Hernandez said.

Heading toward the convention, Democrats hope to use Trump’s recent takeover of the Republican National Committee, ongoing GOP infighting in Congress and at the state level, and other issues to paint their opponents as a party in disarray.

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