environmental racism

CPLC: Statement on proposed expansion of Waukegan Airport and loss of public land

Karen Long MacLeod Campaign Updates, Community News , , , , , , , ,
Passenger airplane being pushed out from an airport terminal.
The Waukegan Port District has not engaged the public in a transparent process around impacts of the proposed expansion of Waukegan National Airport. [Photo: Thor Jorgen Udvang/Dreamstime]

The vision of Clean Power Lake County is to build a sustainable community that promotes the healthy development of all Lake County communities, especially those most vulnerable, by addressing environmental racism, practicing participatory democracy, advancing self-determination, and empowering BIPOC community members. The proposed expansion of Waukegan National Airport, specifically to replace the current runway with one longer than runways used at Midway and Chicago Executive Airports, completely undermines this vision. 

The Waukegan Port District, which owns and operates the airport, has failed to engage the public in a transparent process around impacts of the proposed expansion. Moreover, the municipal corporation failed to provide a thorough environmental impact statement for members of the public or the Lake County Forest Preserve District (LCFPD) to review before asking it to approve the proposal. 

For the planned expansion to proceed, the Port District needs to acquire 52 acres of designated public land entrusted to the LCFPD. This land is in a part of Lake County that has significantly less public green space than more affluent portions of the county, and where existing public lands have not been improved in ways that support public access. This area cannot afford to lose more green space. 

Clean Power Lake County believes it would be a violation of public trust for the LCFPD to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Port District before the full environmental impact report is released and public hearings are held. 

The people of Wadsworth, Zion, Beach Park, and Waukegan have the right to access complete and accurate information about this proposal and must be allowed to exercise their rights as community members who will experience the negative impacts of airport expansion. 

The LCFPD has the responsibility to act in the best interests of both the people of Lake County and the green spaces entrusted to their care. Airport expansion is not urgent and does not require a rushed process. A change of this magnitude requires public engagement, transparency, and a thorough process.

The LCFPD must exercise its authority and require the Port District to demonstrate substantial value to the community, minimal negative environmental impacts, and assurance that there will be no loss of accessible green space in northeastern Lake County. Anything less would further erode the trust we place in our elected officials and jeopardize the future of our communities. 

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

Karen Long MacLeod Campaign Updates, Community News , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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.