Protect Chicago from Dangerous Air Pollution

In the middle of the COVID-19 crisis, developers demolished a giant smokestack at a coal plant in the Little Village neighborhood on the Southwest Side of Chicago.

The explosion released an enormous cloud of dust that experts suspect may have contained toxics like lead and other substances, along with harmful silica. And particle pollution more generally has been linked to increased daily deaths. This dust engulfed surrounding neighborhoods while residents were sheltering in their homes.

This is not an isolated instance — it was an egregious act of environmental racism, and is indicative of the type of injustice frontline communities deal with every day.

Frontline communities in Chicago are exposed to massive amounts of dangerous pollution like manganese and petroleum coke, due to the long and growing list of industrial facilities located near the neighborhood’s homes, schools, and parks.

The city of Chicago must immediately adopt measures that protect the health of all Chicagoans.

Tell Mayor Lori Lightfoot and your alderman to put an end to toxic pollution in Chicago and to protect the health of environmental justice communities, not polluter profits.

Photo: Alejandro Reyes

Tell Mayor Lori Lightfoot and your alderman to put an end to toxic pollution in Chicago and to protect the health of environmental justice communities, not polluter profits.

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Mayor Lori Lightfoot
Your Chicago Alderman

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Protect Chicago’s EJ communities from dangerous pollution

(Consider adding your own thoughts — personalized messages are especially effective)

Dear Mayor Lori Lightfoot and my Chicago Alderman:

I was appalled to hear about the recent demolition of a giant smokestack at a coal plant in the Little Village neighborhood on the Southwest Side of Chicago.
    
The explosion released an enormous cloud of dust that experts suspect may have contained toxics like lead and other substances, along with harmful silica. Moreover, particle pollution generally is linked to increased daily deaths.

This is not an isolated instance — it was an egregious act of environmental racism, and is indicative of the type of injustice frontline communities in Chicago deal with every day.
  
I urge you to listen to the recommendations of local environmental justice groups to address the Little Village explosion tragedy and ensure similar catastrophes never happen again.

I also urge you to help protect the health and safety of frontline communities in Chicago moving forward by:

* Reforming a broken zoning, land use, and environmental system that shuts out community members and facilitates concentrating dirty industry in low-income communities of color while moving such burdens away from wealthy communities
* Increasing fines on the city's worst polluters
* Hiring more inspectors to enforce environmental protections
* Providing parents and other community members resources to help them transition to a sustainable, clean energy future

The impacts of industrial activities on frontline communities are unacceptable, and it will continue if we don't act.

Although the inequalities that exist in our city are not new, we have a new opportunity to address them in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and find new solutions that can outlast the crisis.

Please prioritize the health of Chicago's most vulnerable residents over industrial profits.

Thank you so much for your time.

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Help Protect Chicago’s EJ Communities from Dangerous Air Pollution

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