Watch Reporter William J. Kelly's viral investigation into a luxury Magnificent Mile hotel converted for migrants
Part 1 of Kelly's investigation went viral last week with millions of views
Chicago, Illinois - Veteran Chicago reporter William J. Kelly has just released part two of his explosive investigation into a Magnificent Mile hotel that has been housing migrants for months. Part one of Kelly's investigation into the Inn of Chicago Magnificent Mile went viral last week with millions of views.
In the video, hotel employees can be seen carting large boxes of food - Apple Jacks, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, apples, and oranges - into the hotel. Piles of new mattresses can be seen through lobby windows. Finally, a fed-up hotel manager angrily tells Kelly he's calling 911 for recording him on the sidewalk. New signs on the hotel's doors direct media to Mary May, Director of Media Affairs, Office of Emergency Management and Communications, City of Chicago.
Kelly says the information comes on the heels of Mayor Lightfoot's emergency declaration Tuesday in response to the migrant surge in Chicago and the City Council's approval of $50M in funds to help migrants. "Are Chicago taxpayers really spending $50M on Apple Jacks for migrants?" questions Kelly. "Why aren't we spending $50M on Chicago's homeless, our veterans, or the poor instead?"
Kelly says he is troubled by the City's relationship with the hotel and even more troubled by the checkered past of its owner, Remo Polselli, who also owns the long-shuttered Standard Club, which is poised to house as many as 1200 migrants.
Kelly says his investigation has uncovered:
Polselli was convicted of tax evasion in 2003 and was sentenced to 27 months in prison
In 2014, he was sued by the IRS for $5M
He could still owe as much as $2M to the IRS
In 2013, Polselli announced a plan to house migrant workers in the Metropolitan Hotel annex but the build was declared unsafe and authorities went to court to have it demolished
The Inn of Chicago appears to be in current litigation with the City of Chicago for housing code violations
Poselli's mortgage on the Inn of Chicago appears to be up in a few weeks
The Standard Club owner-financed sale also appears to be due soon
"By housing hundreds of migrants in these rundown properties with possible multiple building code and health code violations, Polselli, could, in theory, halt any foreclosures," Kelly says. "The people of Chicago deserve an answer from outgoing Mayor Lightfoot about what is going on here and how much Chicago is paying per migrant to be housed at the Inn of Chicago, the Standard Club, and other facilities."
Kelly is nationally known for his fiery press conference exchanges with Mayor Lightfoot on Chicago crime and the city's economic decline which have regularly gone viral with millions of views. The veteran reporter and Emmy award-winning producer is a native of Chicago's South Side and a repeat victim of violent crime in Chicago.