CPLC: Our policy on political endorsements

June 25, 2022 Karen Long MacLeod Campaign Updates Clean Power Lake County, democratic process, elections, endorsements

Primary elections are underway in Illinois. Therefore, we would like to remind our supporters that Clean Power Lake County does not endorse candidates running for elected office and does not participate in political campaigns.

CPLC partners with several 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations—charitable, educational, and religious institutions—that are prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office, under the Internal Revenue Code.

At the same time, we believe that practicing participatory democracy is one of the main ways we can build sustainable, healthy communities in Lake County. We respect and appreciate every individual who helps strengthen civic engagement or otherwise engages in the democratic process.

Questions? Please contact us at cplc@cleanpowerlakecounty.org

CPLC: 2021 highlights

February 7, 2022February 7, 2022 Karen Long MacLeod Campaign Updates, Community News, Events, News Clips Brushwood Center, buses, CEJA, Celeste Flores, Chicago Tonight, Chicago Tribune, Clean Power Lake County, Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, coal ash ponds, coal ash rules, coal plants, Dulce Ortiz, Eddie Flores, environmental justice, EPA, ethylene oxide, EtO, General Iron, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, hunger strike, Illinois Pollution Control Board, interns, just transition, Latino Voices, Medline, Midwest Generation, NRG Energy, PACE, Pride Drive, Sen. Adriane Johnson, Sterigenics, wastewater, Waukegan lakefront

Chicago Tribune: Medline and Sterigenics are not reporting data to the EPA.
CPLC volunteers making phone calls for CEJA.
CPLC in its second appearance in Waukegan’s Pride Drive.
CPLC volunteers at Springfield rally for a comprehensive, equitable climate bill.
CPLC volunteers and Sen. Adriane Johnson at North Chicago’s Foss Park.
CPLC summer interns.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker with the newly signed Climate and Equitable Jobs Act.
CPLC co-chair Dulce Ortiz.
CPLC’s Dulce Ortiz and Celeste Flores at the signing of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act.
CPLC’s Eddie Flores, recipient of Environmental Youth Leadership Award from Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods.
Chicago Tribune: CPLC’s fight for clean air, clean water, and healthy soil.

As we reflect on the events of 2021, we feel grateful for—and empowered by—our community and our shared vision to make our world a better place. Clean Power Lake County (CPLC) is proud to highlight some of our recent accomplishments.

February

February 7: CPLC co-chair Dulce Ortiz joined the Illinois Environmental Justice Commission as a voting member. The commission advises the Governor and state entities on environmental justice and related community issues.
February 8: Four members of CPLC’s steering committee joined a one-day hunger strike to protest the move of General Iron Industries’ metal shredding facility from Chicago’s affluent, predominantly white Lincoln Park neighborhood to Chicago’s predominantly Latino Southeast Side.

April

April 15: The Illinois Pollution Control Board adopted rules for closing more than 70 coal ash ponds across the state—including two on Waukegan’s lakefront. CPLC members worked hard to make this happen!
April 18: CPLC demanded that President Joe Biden’s administration address the Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to investigate ethylene oxide (EtO) polluters in Lake County—or to warn residents about the carcinogen.

May

May 17: “Transparency is key,” said CPLC co-chair Celeste Flores in a Chicago Tribune front-page story about Medline’s failure to report toxic ethylene oxide emissions to the Environmental Protection Agency.
May 24: CPLC organized one of several phone banking events supporting the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA).

June

June 2: CPLC participated in the Waukegan Pride Drive for the second consecutive year to help celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month.
June 14: CPLC and allies told the Chicago Tribune that toxic waste left behind by coal-fired power plants could endanger drinking water for years to come.
June 15: CPLC volunteers journeyed to Springfield to advocate for passage of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s comprehensive, equitable climate bill.
June 17: NRG announced plans to close the coal-fired power plant in Waukegan. “Hundreds of volunteers, thousands of hours, helped make this day a reality,” said CPLC co-chair Dulce Ortiz.

July

July 31 : CPLC steering committee member Eddie Flores appeared on WTTW – Chicago Tonight Latino Voices to discuss key elements of the Clean Energy Jobs Act.

August

August 2: Big win! After meeting with CPLC, the Environmental Protection Agency decided to revise rules for how coal-fired power plants—including the one in Waukegan—can dispose of contaminated wastewater.
August 7: CPLC partnered with Illinois Sen. Adrianne Johnson to organize a clean-up at North Chicago’s Foss Park.

September

September 6: Thanks to our combined efforts, the Illinois House passed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, one of the most ambitious climate justice laws in the nation!
September 15: Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act into law. This was CPLC’s top priority for 2021: CPLC co-chairs Dulce Ortiz and Celeste Flores were thrilled to join fellow members of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition for the signing ceremony on Chicago’s lakefront.
September 16: After several months of advocacy by Sierra Club Illinois, CPLC and other environmental organizations, PACE announced plans to electrify its the Waukegan bus fleet by 2026.

October

October 2: CPLC steering committee member Eddie Flores received the Environmental Youth Leadership Award from Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods.

December

December 5: CPLC’s fight for clean air, clean water, and healthy soil in Waukegan was the subject of the front-page story in the Sunday edition of the Chicago Tribune. CPLC co-chair Dulce Ortiz and steering committee members Eddie Flores and Karen Long MacLeod were interviewed.
December 15-16: CPLC volunteers asked dozens of questions during Midwest Generation’s public meetings on proposed plans to close coal ash ponds on the Waukegan lakefront.

2022 vision

This year, we feel all the more energized to accomplish our mission: ensuring clean air, clean water, and healthy soil for every Lake County community member and achieving the self-determination of those disproportionately impacted by environmental pollution.

Priorities for 2022:

Continue pursuing a just transition for the Waukegan coal plant. This means ensuring that coal ash is removed so it cannot contaminate Lake Michigan, the source of drinking water for 6 million people in four states. It also means ensuring proper notification and public engagement if and when the company plans any demolition at the site.
Monitoring efforts to implement the Coal Ash Pollution Prevention Act (signed into law in 2019) to hold coal plant owners accountable for clean-ups.
Serving in key working groups to ensure effective implementation of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (signed into law in 2021).

CPLC: New Illinois Law Will Help Build Equitable Clean Energy Future

September 16, 2021August 15, 2022 Karen Long MacLeod Campaign Updates, Community News CEJA, Clean Power Lake County, Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, Dulce Ortiz, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, just transition, Waukegan lakefront

Governor Pritzker at Chicago lakefront — _{Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs the historic Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. [Photo courtesy of Celeste Flores]}

Illinois’ Climate and Equitable Jobs Act—designed to build an equitable clean energy future for Illinoisans—is now the law of our land.

Clean Power Lake County is proud to have joined fellow members of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition as well as Illinois House and Senate leaders in Chicago on Sept. 15 to see Gov. J.B. Pritzker sign the sweeping bill into law.

The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act combines appropriate pollution regulations with equity protections to help establish responsible transition timelines for fossil fuel plants like the one on Waukegan’s lakefront. These equity protections are essential to prevent abrupt retirement announcements that leave no room for planning and force communities to fend for themselves against profit-focused corporate giants.

Clean Power Lake County has been fighting for nearly a decade to end toxic pollution from the coal-fired power plant in our front yard.

Waukegan deserves a just transition from coal to a clean energy future. And now we will get it: The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act invests $41 million per year in former fossil fuel communities and workers. It will replace lost property taxes, help workers with training, and support equity-focused workforce programs to help communities like ours become part of our clean energy future.

For far too long, Black and Brown lives have been sacrificed for the sake of corporate profits. The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act finally stops putting the profits of inefficient and dirty fossil fuels over the health and safety of our Black and Brown sisters and brothers.

This act addresses the historic inequities of pollution, creates jobs in the communities that need them the most, and invests in projects critical to our communities. Most importantly, we will leave a better community, a better world for our many generations to come, a healthy and clean energy future beyond coal.
—Dulce Ortiz, co-chair of Clean Power Lake County

CPLC Celebrates LGBTQ Pride Month With Waukegan PrideDrive

June 2, 2021 Karen Long MacLeod Campaign Updates, Community News bisexual, Clean Power Lake County, gay, lesbian, LGBTQ Pride Month, queer, transsexual, Waukegan

Car decorated for Waukegan Pride Drive — _{This year, Clean Power Lake County will make its second appearance in Waukegan’s PrideDrive. In 2020, CPLC and Faith in Place volunteers collaborated on entries. [Image: courtesy Celeste Flores]}

As a community organization committed to justice for all people, Clean Power Lake County is pleased to celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month. We gratefully acknowledge the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals have had on local, national, and international history.

To kick off Pride Month, we are excited to participate for the second year in Waukegan’s PrideDrive. Members of our steering committee will decorate a car to show solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.

PrideDrive 2021 is Saturday, June 5, from 1 pm to 3 pm. Vehicles will roll out from 269 W. Clayton St., near Jack Benny Plaza in downtown Waukegan. For route information, visit the PrideDrive Facebook page.

The celebration will continue with an after-party in front of Nightshade and Dark’s Pandemonium Brewing, 216 W. Clayton St.

The Lake County Health Department (LCHD), Waukegan Main Street and the LGBTQ+ Center of Lake County will fill the streets with friends, fun and pride.

This event will follow CDC, Illinois Department of Public Health and LCHD social distancing guidelines.

Celebrate Earth Month: Do a DIY Clean-up by April 30

April 23, 2021June 2, 2021 Karen Long MacLeod Campaign Updates Clean Power Lake County, clean-up, Earth Month

Earth Month lasts another seven days. That’s plenty of time to make a planet-friendly difference close to home.

In years past, Clean Power Lake County volunteers have gathered during Earth Month to clean up the beach. This year, with the pandemic continuing, we had to think of a safer way our volunteers could make a difference. Hence, a do-it-yourself clean-up!

Our communities could certainly use a good clean-up right about now. Thanks to the pandemic, we’re seeing more trash than ever. People get more take-out food more often. Grocery stores don’t allow reusable shopping bags. Coffee shops don’t allow reusable cups. And face masks are scattered everywhere.

So we encourage you to organize your own Earth Month clean-up with your pod! Clean-ups are super easy to do on your own. They also are a great way to see tangible results in a short amount of time.

Please sign the Clean Power Lake County Neighborhood Clean-up Pledge now to clean up your neighborhood, a nearby park, or even the lakefront by April 30.

Here are our best practices for organizing your clean-up:

Keep an eye out during walks or bike rides for places nearby that look like they could use a clean-up.
Recruit members of your pod to help with the clean-up and pick a good time to meet up. (Whether it’s 30 minutes or 3 hours, everything helps.)
Grab trash bags and think about where the trash will go when you finish. If you don’t expect to pick up much, you can just throw the bags into your own trash bin. If you think you will collect more than your personal trash can handle, identify a place you can drop it off or ask your alderman for help arranging a pickup.
Wear reflective or bright clothes, long pants, and closed-toe shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty. If you anticipate going off the trail or into an area with brush, first make sure you’re allowed to enter that area. (You don’t want to disturb a restoration in progress!).
Wear gloves. The thicker the better, so nothing can poke through. (Trust us, you don’t want to pick up trash with your bare hands.)
Bring a speaker! Everything is more fun with music.

When you finish, tell us about your clean-up. We want to know how much trash you collected (by weight and/or number of bags). Even better, we’d love to see photos of your pod as the star in the effort to improve your environment for yourself, your friends, and neighbors.

CPLC: Statement on EPA’s Failure to Protect Lake County Residents From EtO

April 18, 2021 Karen Long MacLeod Community News Biden administration, cancer-linked chemical, carcinogen, Clean Power Lake County, environmental justice, Environmental Justice Advisory Council, ethylene oxide, EtO, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, statement, Trump administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

EPA map of cancer risk levels associated with ethylene oxide in Lake County, Illinois. — ^{Residents of Lake County, Illinois, face elevated cancer risk levels due to ethylene oxide emissions. [Image: US EPA]}

Political appointees in the Trump administration blocked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from investigating ethylene oxide (EtO) polluters and prevented staff from warning Lake County residents about the carcinogen, according to a new report issued by the inspector general for the EPA.

Clean Power Lake County is deeply troubled to learn of yet another example of Trump’s EPA standing with polluters instead of communities. But we are not surprised.

Although the EPA was aware of the dangers posed by EtO, it buried this information. EPA’s action put tens of thousands of disproportionately Black and brown Lake County community members in harm’s way. The EPA failed in its mission to protect human health and the natural environment by allowing corporations to continue jeopardizing the well-being of our already overburdened communities and exposing us to highly carcinogenic toxins.

It should not be radical for us to demand a healthy living environment.

We will hold the Biden administration to its promise to address these findings and demand continuous, independent, fenceline monitoring for EtO in every impacted community across the nation.

We applaud the Biden administration for creating the Environmental Justice Advisory Council—and we remind council members that tailored action must follow for each EJ community.

The EPA must provide the necessary support and proper communications to state EPAs and county health departments. This administration must hold the EPA accountable for communicating with local governments and EJ leaders; supporting state, county, and local priorities; and enforcing federal regulations.

We look forward to continuing to work with Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin of Illinois—two of the four members of Congress who requested an investigation into EPA’s handling of ethylene oxide emissions—and all of our elected officials to hold the EPA accountable and to address the many EJ issues our community members face.

For more information:

The Hill: Trump official delayed releasing information on cancer-linked chemical in Illinois: watchdog

Chicago Tribune: Trump appointees blocked EPA from investigating ethylene oxide polluters and prevented staff from warning Americans about the cancer-causing gas, report says

CPLC: Statement on Anti-Asian Hate Incidents

March 29, 2021 Karen Long MacLeod Campaign Updates, Community News anti-Asian, Asian American, Clean Power Lake County, hate incidents, Pacific Islander, statement, StopAAPIHate

_{In March, thousands participated in protests in Atlanta, New York, and other cities denouncing anti-Asian sentiment. [Jason Leung/Unsplash photo]}

As a community organization committed to justice for all people, Clean Power Lake County condemns the troubling trend of violence toward Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

The mass shootings that killed eight people—six of whom were Asian women—in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 16, are one devastating instance of violence against the Asian American community.

The Stop AAPI Hate Center received 3,795 reports of anti-Asian hate incidents in the United States between March 19, 2020, and February 28, 2021. This number represents only a fraction of the number of hate incidents that actually occur. Still, it shows how vulnerable Asian Americans are to discrimination that ranges from shunning to verbal slurs to physical violence.

Most attacks target the most vulnerable members of the Asian American community. Women report 68% of incidents. Youths (0 to 17 years old) report 12.6% of incidents and seniors (60 years old and older) report 6.2% of the total incidents.

Our hearts are with all of the Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities.

For information on how you can be an ally to AAPI communities, visit stopaapihate.org/actnow/.

CPLC Stands With Chicago’s SE Side in Hunger Strike Against General Iron Move

February 8, 2021 Karen Long MacLeod Campaign Updates, Community News Celeste Flores, Clean Power Lake County, Eddie Flores, environmental justice, environmental racism, General Iron Industries, hunger strike, Leah Hartung, Lupe Bueno, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Southeast Side

Today, four members of Clean Power Lake County’s Steering Committee joined a growing hunger strike to protest the move of General Iron Industries’ metal shredding facility from Chicago’s affluent, predominantly white Lincoln Park neighborhood to the predominantly Latino Southeast Side (East 116th Street along the Calumet River).

Clean Power Lake County co-chair Celeste Flores explains why she, Lupe Bueno, Eddie Flores, and Leah Hartung participated in today’s one-day solidarity hunger strike:

[As residents of] Waukegan, Illinois, we know all too well how environmental justice communities bear the burden of the health and economic impacts from corporate polluters. We stand in solidarity with community members on the Southeast Side of Chicago, who are on the fifth day of their hunger strike.

Fasting is used as a method of protesting injustice. In this case, the injustice is environmental racism—something environmental justice communities experience on a day-to-day basis. Mayor Lightfoot has had plenty of opportunities to stand with the people and not with corporate polluters. Today I am calling on Senators Durbin and Duckworth to intervene before it is too late for the community members they represent.

Just [as they did with] the community members in Little Village—who in April 2020 experienced the demolition of the Crawford smokestack in the middle of a global pandemic that affects the respiratory system—Mayor Lightfoot and her team have shown over and over again they do not have the best interests of community members in mind when approving permits that favor corporations over people.

Senator Durbin and Senator Duckworth, it is not enough for you to come out with a statement after the permit is issued. This community deserves to hear you denounce the approval of the General Iron operations permit for the Southeast Side of Chicago, and they deserve it today. We look forward to you choosing to stand with people who live and work in the Southeast Side and holding Mayor Lightfoot accountable for her actions in this beautiful community.

A local teacher and two activists initiated the hunger strike to draw attention to their plight. They have vowed not to eat solid foods until the City of Chicago denies General Iron’s application for an operating permit. (For updates, go to #StopGeneralIron Hunger Strike on Twitter.)

According to a news report in the Chicago Sun-Times, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is investigating residents’ complaints that operation of the car-shredding facility would violate their civil rights.

As far as Clean Power Lake County is concerned, adding yet another polluter to a community already burdened by other industrial companies in the area is unconscionable.

If you agree, please call on Senators Tammy Duckworth and Richard Durbin to intervene and condemn General Iron’s proposed move.

Email Sen. Tammy Duckworth or call her Chicago office, 312-886-3506
Email Sen. Richard Durbin or call his Chicago office, 312-353-4952

CPLC Co-chair Joins Illinois EJ Commission

February 7, 2021 Karen Long MacLeod Community News, Uncategorized Clean Power Lake County, Dulce Ortiz, environmental justice, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Remove term: Illinois Commission on Environmental Justice. Illinois Commission on Environmental Justice

Dulce Ortiz of Clean Power Lake County in a video clip — Dulce Ortiz, seen here in a 2020 video stressing the urgency of passing CEJA.

Dulce Ortiz, co-chair of Clean Power Lake County, recently was appointed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to Illinois’ Commission on Environmental Justice. She will serve through September 2022.

Ortiz currently is one of three commissioners who stand for communities concerned with environmental justice. She is the only voting member from Lake County.

The EJ Commission advises state entities and the Governor on environmental justice and related community issues. Members analyze current state laws and policies for their impact on the issue of environmental justice and sustainable communities. They also prioritize areas of the state that need immediate attention.

Voting members include 10 representatives of various state agencies and 14 members of the public.

Gubernatorial appointees include residents of EJ communities, experts on environmental health and environmental justice, and representatives of business, labor, and environmental organizations.

Ortiz has been a leading voice for clean air, clean water, and healthy soil for every Lake County community member—especially those disproportionately impacted by environmental pollution—since 2013.

CPLC: 2020 Highlights

January 26, 2021January 26, 2021 Karen Long MacLeod Campaign Updates, Community News 40 Under 40 list, CARE, CEJA, Celeste Flores, Chicago Tonight, Clean Energy Jobs Act, Clean Power Lake County, coal ash hearings, coal ash impoundments, coal ash rules, Colin Byers, COVID-19, Drum Major, Dulce Ortiz, Earth Day, Earth Day to May Day Coalition, Earthjustice, Eco-Justice Collaborative, Eddie Flores, Edgar Sandoval, environmental justice, Environmental Lobby Day, ethylene oxide, EtO, Faith in Place, fossil fuel bailouts, fundraiser, fundraising campaign, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, ICJC, Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, Illinois Communities for Coal Ash Cleanup, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois Pollution Control Board, Lake County, Medline Industries, Octavius Hayes, Rev. Eileen Shanley Roberts, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Sierra Club, State of the Union address, State Rep. Joyce Mason, Support CPLC, veto session, video, Virtual Lobby Day, Waukegan City Council, Waukegan Township

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After the year we just had, the term “2020 vision” will never sound quite the same.

2020 brought more than its share of tragedies and challenges, yet Clean Power Lake County (CPLC) had moments worth celebrating. We’re excited to share some of these moments with you because they highlight the many ways our supporters continue to show up to fight for environmental justice in Lake County.

January

January 6: CPLC joined Illinois Communities for Coal Ash Cleanup to comment on the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s draft rules for coal ash impoundments.
January 6: The Waukegan City Council passed a resolution to support Illinois’ Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA). The resolution recognized that environmental risks and burdens fall disproportionately on communities of color—and that these burdens cumulatively contribute to climate change. CPLC supports CEJA as a solution to both environmental racism and climate change at the local level.
January 14: CPLC co-chair Celeste Flores traveled to Texas for EPA public hearings on the proposed Miscellaneous Organic Chemical Manufacturing rule. The proposed rule included regulations on ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions. Representatives of environmental justice organizations from across the nation attended the hearings.
January 20: CPLC co-chair and Mano a Mano Executive Director Dulce Ortiz received a Drum Major Award from Waukegan Township. Announced on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the awards recognize people who stand up for human rights and civil rights in their personal and professional lives.
January 21: CPLC joined other members of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC) at a press conference to demand that legislators block Trump-backed fossil fuel bailouts. ICJC said the bailouts exacerbate climate change, pollution, and energy inequity.
January 21: The public finally learned that Medline Industries in Waukegan had initiated a temporary shutdown of EtO operations on December 13.
January 27: CPLC helped deliver 38,000 petitions from Illinois residents urging Gov. J.B. Pritzker to pass CEJA. Colin Byers of Waukegan spoke on our behalf. He was accompanied by Steering Committee members Rev. Eileen Shanley-Roberts, Eddie Sandoval, and Celeste Flores.
January 29: Gov. J.B. Pritzker mentioned clean energy as a priority during his State of the State address. (Let’s continue to urge the governor to act on this priority in 2021; see actions at the end of this post.)

February

February 4: Co-chair Celeste Flores attended the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., as a guest of Sen. Tammy Duckworth to help shine a light on environmental justice and “raise awareness of the fact that these communities face public health challenges at alarming rates while too many in power look the other way.”
February 18: CPLC signed a joint organization letter calling on the EPA to reduce EtO and other emissions from chemical plants to decrease the risk of cancer.
February 21: Co-chair Dulce Ortiz spoke at an Illinois House Public Utilities Committee hearing, urging legislators to protect communities against the harmful impacts of continued fossil fuel bailouts by passing CEJA and growing an equitable clean energy economy.

March

March 4: CPLC advocated for the passage of CEJA during Lobby Day in Springfield. Steering Committee member Octavius Hayes spoke at the high-energy rally.
March 6: Co-chair Celeste Flores testified about just transitions in an Illinois House Energy and Environment Committee hearing on equity in the energy industry.

April

April 16: CPLC joined the Earth Day to May Day Coalition, which united labor, community, and environmental justice organizations. Co-chair Dulce Ortiz spoke at the coalition’s kickoff press conference.
April 22: Several CPLC volunteers spoke during a virtual Earth Day event hosted by the Earth Day to May Day Coalition.

May

May 5: Co-chair Celeste Flores appeared on a “Chicago Tonight” segment focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Waukegan. She made relevant points about CPLC’s mission and advocacy for environmental justice.
May 28: A new ICJC poll showed that 8 in 10 Illinois voters support CEJA. They understand that CEJA will create thousands of clean energy jobs without raising taxes or hiking energy bills.

August

August 11: CPLC joined national environmental justice organizations in sending a letter to the EPA opposing attempts to undermine the independent scientific standard for EtO.
August 12-13: Ten CPLC volunteers delivered public comments at the first of two sets of coal ash hearings hosted by the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

September

September 14: Co-chair Celeste Flores was named to Energy News Network’s 40 Under 40 list. The list highlighted emerging leaders in the work to achieve a just transition to a clean energy economy.
September 17: CPLC Steering Committee member Eddie Flores advocated for CEJA during a virtual youth town hall hosted by ICJC.
September 21: CPLC and ICJC hosted a “Re-envision and Re-invest in Illinois Coal Communities” virtual town hall. Co-chair Dulce Ortiz spoke at the event.
September 22: CPLC, Sierra Club, and State Rep. Joyce Mason hosted a “Reimagining Solutions for Racial Justice & Climate Change in District 61” virtual town hall focusing on CEJA. Co-chair Dulce Ortiz was a featured speaker.
September 29-October 1: Ten CPLC volunteers—three testifying in Spanish—delivered public comments at the second of two sets of coal ash hearings hosted by the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

October

October 7: Anticipating that CEJA might come up for a vote during the scheduled veto session, CPLC partnered with ICJC to create a video with our perspective on the need for CJEA. Although the veto session was cancelled, the video remains a strategic tool to help move legislators during the next session.
October 31: As of this date, 1,712 people had signed a joint Sierra Club/Faith in Place/Eco-Justice Collaborative/CARE petition calling for strong coal ash rules. More than 310 petitions contained personalized messages.

November

November 9-13: More than 1,000 Illinois residents—including CPLC volunteers—attended 80 meetings with Illinois legislators on Virtual Lobby Day, November 12. Steering Committee member Eddie Flores spoke at the midday rally.

December

December 22: CPLC, Earthjustice, and many other justice organizations sent a letter to the EPA requesting an extension on the deadline for public comment on the draft human health/ecological risk assessments for EtO. The original deadline was January 19, 2021.

Last, but not least

CPLC, partnering with the Illinois Environmental Council Education Fund, launched the “Support CPLC” fundraising campaign. Proceeds will help us ramp up public work to transition northeastern Lake County toward a clean, sustainable future and to fight environmental injustice in our community. As of today, we are more than halfway toward our $30K goal. To support CPLC, please make a gift here.

2021 vision

We predict that CEJA will pass in 2021—with your help! So we must tell our elected officials to pass CEJA now!

Please sign this letter supporting CEJA.

Write your own letter. Feel free to use sample phrases and facts from our CEJA fact sheet.

We have much justice work to do this year. Despite 2021’s disturbing start, we look forward to continuing this work, together, to create a more livable, more just world.