Autopsy results showed that the death of a five-year-old boy inside a shady migrant shelter in Chicago was caused by sepsis and a bacterial infection.
Jean Carlos Martínez was only five years old when he died on December 17 after taking refuge in the Pilsen shelter south of the city center.
The cause of his death was found to be sepsis due to a group A streptococcus pyogenes infection, which can cause strep throat and other life-threatening illnesses, the autopsy released by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office showed.
Contributing factors to his death were COVID-19, adenovirus and rhinovirus, the autopsy showed.
Jean was sick with fever and pain in his left leg for two or three days before he died.
Jean Carlos Martínez was only five years old when he died on December 17 after taking refuge in the Pilsen shelter south of the city center.
Autopsy results showed that the death of a five-year-old boy inside a shady migrant shelter in Chicago was caused by sepsis and a bacterial infection.
Jean’s tragic death in December occurred along with four other hospitalizations of children within the same shelter.
The numerous cases of illness caused questions to be raised about the conditions at the shelter.
Video footage, obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com, shows 2,300 migrants crammed together in freezing temperatures under a leaky roof at the shelter.
Volunteers told DailyMail.com that they feared weeks ago that the conditions could lead to death among sick children.
One video showed a boy with what appeared to be a bandage on his head lying on a thin folding bed, distracting himself with a tablet.
Another shows a different child coughing and crying while having his temperature taken and being examined by volunteers.
A third video showed water dripping from the ceiling and pooling on one of the beds.
‘When the water is dumped up here… like all that wood is rotting from the water that fell here – look, it has water,’ one man said in Spanish while filming.
The converted warehouse appeared to be doing a poor job of protecting itself from Chicago’s winter chill during the frigid December weather.
A photo of a little girl wrapped in a pink puffer jacket and matching pants and hat showed that the warehouse was not keeping out the winter cold.
One photo showed a little girl wrapped in a pink puffer jacket and matching pants and hat.
On October 15, volunteers sent an email detailing their concerns about conditions at the shelter to two Chicago city officials.
“Dozens of sick people, including children, were denied painkillers and other palliative measures,” wrote Annie Gomberg of the city police station’s response team.
‘If a resident needs medical help, they are left alone with no advice other than to call 911 and are told it will “cost them a lot of money” to use an ambulance and go to a hospital as a deterrent.
‘I thought we were paying for doctors and nurses.’
Gomberg described how drinking water was rationed in 4- to 6-ounce glasses and there was not enough food or bathrooms for the 2,300 immigrants living there.
He warned that children were not receiving any vaccines, which, combined with everyone living in close quarters, could be deadly.
“I predict an outbreak of a disease like measles in the next six months without further intervention,” he wrote.
“They are not providing enough clothing, blankets or bedding, everything is provided by private citizens committed to alleviating suffering.”
There was also no access to a laundromat, at least one that impoverished immigrants could afford, so everyone wore dirty clothes.
Migrants have previously described outbreaks of chickenpox, flu and upper respiratory infections within the shelter.
The shelter is run by Favorite Healthcare Staffing, a Kansas-based contractor, which the city has paid $100 million to operate as of September 2022.
A video recorded by a passerby showed garbage piled up outside the shelter. The converted factory was the subject of numerous complaints about unsanitary conditions
They said some children contracted eye infections from fiber-like debris falling from the ceiling and were not given any medication if they were sick.
The food was the same chicken and rice every day, often too spicy for the children to eat and sometimes spoiled. Other foods could not be preserved and were thrown away by staff if they were discovered during regular inspections.
The shelter is run by Favorite Healthcare Staffing, a Kansas-based contractor, which the city has paid $100 million to operate as of September 2022.
Officials are grappling with how to respond to Chicago’s migrant crisis as progressive Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker appear to be fighting over tens of millions of dollars they will both need to fund a solution to the city’s migrant crisis. city.
Windy City is struggling to serve more than 34,000 asylum seekers bused from the border by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over the past 18 months. It has spent $156 million on the crisis and still has 14,200 immigrants in its 28 shelters, and is fighting with the state of Illinois over where to build more.
Pritzker, along with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, pledged to find another $250 million to fund their response. However, that’s $71 million less than officials say will be needed in 2024 alone.