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Accountability for environmental racism in Illinois!

WHAT'S HAPPENING:

Black, Brown and Indigenous communities across Illinois have experienced generations of concentrated, toxic industrial pollution at the hands of dirty industry, greenlighted by state and local governing bodies.

Through budgeting, redlining, voter suppression, public meetings laws, zoning laws, and other means, systemic racism has shaped land use practices in environmental justice (EJ) communities-- often BIPOC and working class-- resulting in devastating rates of pollution and costly, chronic health impacts.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Join us in calling on the Illinois General Assembly to take meaningful action during this legislative session to upend the dangerous legacy of environmental racism in this state!

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This action is lead by the members of the Chicago Environmental Justice Network:

Blacks In Green
People for Community Recovery
Neighbors for Environmental Justice
Southside Environmental Task Force
Southside Coalition to Ban Petcoke
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization

State Legislators

Subject: Please co-sponsor legislation to address environmental racism

Message:

As your constituent, I am writing today to call on you to support legislation (HB4093/SB2906) that will take meaningful action to address the historic legacy of environmental racism that has persisted in our state for too long. Please add your name as a co-sponsor. Historically, the state of Illinois, like the rest of our nation, has perpetuated environmental racism through budgeting, redlining, voter suppression and other means. Many of these laws remain on the books today. In fact, current zoning laws, legacies of racism and barriers to public engagement, have shaped land use practices across the state wherein environmental justice (EJ) communities-- often BIPOC and working-class-- are home to the highest concentrations of air, water and land pollution. Decades of pollution has caused tangible health impacts such as disproportionate rates of respiratory health issues. I’m asking you to do all in your power to significantly and effectually change zoning and permitting processes in Illinois. It is imperative that the state do the following: -Define environmental justice areas in a way that recognizes cumulative impact and allows communities to determine their status as such an area. -Efforts must be made to expand public and community participation by requiring in person, public hearings for permits under consideration in the impacted community. In those public meetings, oral and written translation services should be standard procedure, rather than by request only. -Grievance procedures must allow any person or community that has been discriminated against by the IEPA to file a complaint and provide standing to impacted communities to challenge a siting permit in court. -The state must take measures to identify long-time bad actors by creating a project bank for fines and fees incurred in EJ communities to stay in the community, requiring an EJ assessment for cumulative impact for any new pollution source in an EJ area. Deadlines required by the IEPA for permit approval should be extended and the IEPA should be required to deny permits for previous environmental violations given by any body of government. Industry acted with impunity for generations. We have suffered for too long, particularly Black, Brown, Indigenous and working-class Illinoisans. Again, I urge you to support legislation that includes the above-mentioned priorities during this legislative session. Thank you for your consideration,

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This action is lead by the members of the Chicago Environmental Justice Network:

Accountability for environmental racism in Illinois!

WHAT'S HAPPENING:

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

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