- Environmental justice advocacy group emerged in Chicago after an asphalt mixing plant was constructed near a community center.
- Asphalt plant was constructed without public notice or the ability for community members to learn about operations or voice opinions.
- Two-year investigation by federal government concluded that the city violated residents’ civil rights by intentionally siting industrial facilities in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods.
- Environmental injustice has plagued Chicago for decades, but community activists are hoping the federal government’s intervention will spark a trend towards fairness.
By: Planet Forward | January 11, 2023
When Chicago native Alfredo Romo of the McKinley Park neighborhood made his way down West Pershing Road one March morning in 2018, the last thing he expected to see was an asphalt mixing plant right across the street from his local park and community center…
Romo serves as the executive director of the McKinley Park environmental organization Neighbors for Environmental Justice (N4EJ). The group formed after the construction of the facility for asphalt mixing company MAT Asphalt, at 2055 W. Pershing Road…
A two-year investigation from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) concluded in July, ruling that the city violated residents’ civil rights by deliberately placing heavy industry facilities in industrial corridors largely concentrated in the city’s predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods…
For Chicago’s low-income communities, the complaint and HUD ruling represent the culmination of decades of environmental mistreatment. The city also reported in 2020 that an estimated 5% of all premature deaths in the city come from conditions attributable to breathing PM2.5 pollution. PM (particulate matter) refers to microscopic droplets of solid or liquid pollution that humans breathe in as it sifts through the air; PM2.5 is particularly harmful because it’s small enough to reach deeper into the respiratory tract and even the bloodstream (in contrast to the larger PM10, for example) to inflict bodily damage and disease…
The Lightfoot administration was initially defensive, calling HUD’s accusations “absolutely absurd” and signaling that it would take the matter to court. However, HUD said in an Oct. 20 statement that the two sides have opened up negotiations over potential reforms. The Lightfoot administration did not respond to requests for comment regarding the lawsuit or the negotiations.
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