These days, it has also become a welcome center of sorts for migrants.
Volunteers are working there daily, accepting donations of socks, puffy North Face jackets, snow pants and bars of soap.
For more than a month, city officials said, buses from Texas have avoided Chicago entirely, dropping hundreds of migrants in suburbs that have been given no warning that they are en route.
In December, Chicago enacted penalties for bus operators who drop off passengers outside of designated times and locations or without a permit.
The dynamic has played out elsewhere as well, sending some migrants to New Jersey suburbs of New York City.
Organizations:
Metra
Locations:
Wilmette, Chicago, Wilmette —, Texas, New Jersey, New York City