Neighbors for Environmental Justice

N4EJ was founded in 2007 by a group of community members, including Robert Beedle and Anthony Moser. The organization formed as a response to the development of a hot-mix asphalt plant, MAT Asphalt, located in Chicago's McKinley Park neighborhood.{{Cite web |title=McKinley Park News - Environmental Justice Group Launches as Counterpoint to New Industrial Development |url=https://mckinleypark.news/news/334-environmental-justice-group-launches-as-counterpoint-to-new-industrial-development |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=mckinleypark.news}} MAT Asphalt neighbors a school, park, and residential units in McKinley Park. Despite community protest, MAT Asphalt has continued their operations.{{Cite web |date=2021-10-18 |title=McKinley Park asphalt plant fined after hundreds of complaints, owner is appealing |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/10/18/22733027/mat-asphalt-mckinley-park-michael-tadin-fines-public-health-dust-allison-arwady |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=Chicago Sun-Times |language=en}} These operations, according to N4EJ, could potentially have harmful effects on lung health, asthma, or worse, as a result of exposure to the dust and fumes the asphalt plant creates.{{Cite web |title=A Dirty Deal for McKinley Park? |url=https://www.greencommunityconnections.org/recent/2019/4/30/a-dirty-deal-for-mckinley-park |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=Green Community Connections |language=en-US}} N4EJ is organized by local community members who are concerned about air quality and air pollution. Developments in Chicago, like Mat Asphalt, have undergone controversy regarding air quality violations in the past.{{Cite web |date=2022-01-22 |title=MAT Asphalt says its air pollution is below state limits |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/1/21/22895748/mat-asphalt-air-pollution-illinois-epa-environment-protection-agency-trucks-mckinley-park |access-date=2023-03-08 |website=Chicago Sun-Times |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2023-02-10 |title=Polluters like Southeast Side plant often get a pass on air-quality violations in Chicago, Sun-Times finds |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/2/10/23592110/polluters-pullman-innovations-air-quality-pollution-violations |access-date=2023-03-08 |website=Chicago Sun-Times |language=en}} In 2020, several complaints were filed against MAT Asphalt due to their failure in controlling airborne particles, foul odors, amongst other complaints.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-10 |title=MAT Asphalt wins up to $141M in city contracts after settling pollution complaints |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/4/10/23677508/mat-asphalt-contract-settles-pollution-charges |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=Chicago Sun-Times |language=en}} With environmental concerns such as pollution in mind, N4EJ has partnered with other local and community-based environmental organizations including the Chicago Environmental Justice Network (CEJN), which also partners with organizations such as the Southwest Environmental Alliance (SEA), People for Community Recovery (PCR),{{Cite web |title=Environmental Justice in Chicago: It’s Been One Battle After Another |url=https://www.nrdc.org/stories/environmental-justice-chicago-its-been-one-battle-after-another |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=www.nrdc.org |language=en}} and the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO).{{Cite web |last=pcampillo |date=2021-05-26 |title=Chicago Environmental Justice Network Puts Forward Proposal to Address Cumulative Pollution Impact on Environmental Justice Communities |url=https://ilenviro.org/chicago-environmental-justice-network-puts-forward-proposal-to-address-cumulative-pollution-impact-on-environmental-justice-communities/ |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=Illinois Environmental Council |language=en-US}}

The Chicago Environmental Justice Network (CEJN){{Cite web |last=pcampillo |date=2021-05-26 |title=Chicago Environmental Justice Network Puts Forward Proposal to Address Cumulative Pollution Impact on Environmental Justice Communities |url=https://ilenviro.org/chicago-environmental-justice-network-puts-forward-proposal-to-address-cumulative-pollution-impact-on-environmental-justice-communities/ |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=Illinois Environmental Council |language=en-US}} is a community-based environmental justice coalition based on Chicago's South and West Sides. CEJN has a proposed mission of remediating environmental concerns, such as pollution, in Chicago residential areas. CJEN is affiliated with other local environmental justice organizations which are concerned with a variety of environmental, social, and economic issues. CJEN and its affiliates include the People for Community Recovery (PCR), the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), the Southwest Environmental Task Force (SETF), Blacks in Green, and The Neighborhood for Environmental Justice (N4EJ).

The Southwest Environmental Alliance (SEA) is a taskforce of environmental advocacy groups located near Chicago’s Southwest Side and neighboring industrial corridors.The alliance was founded in 2017. The areas covered by the alliance include Bridgeport, Canaryville, Brighton Park, and McKinley Park neighborhoods.{{Cite web |title=Environmental Issues Take Center Stage at Mayoral Forum Held in Heart of Chicago’s Overburdened Communities |url=https://news.wttw.com/2023/03/28/environmental-issues-take-center-stage-mayoral-forum-held-heart-chicago-s-overburdened |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=WTTW News |language=en}} The environmental justice coalition was formed in response to community concerns regarding the industrial pollution in proximity to the Southwest Side.{{Cite web |last=Levine |first=Lily |date=2022-05-20 |title=Making the Invisible Visible |url=https://southsideweekly.com/making-the-invisible-visible/ |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=South Side Weekly |language=en-US}} The SEA's stated mission is to improve community health by mitigating the environmental concerns of the surrounding communities in the coalition.{{Cite web |title=Local groups ask residents to step up residents to step up to fight pollution |url=https://gazettechicago.com/2022/12/local-groups-ask-residents-to-step-up-residents-to-step-up-to-fight-pollution/ |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=gazettechicago.com}} SEA focuses its efforts on events that help the environment. An example would be the “Weed the Walk” event in which volunteers walk around learning about plants, animals, and how to take out weeds safely without damaging them. On top of that, SEA also set up dates to meet with electoral officials to discuss developers like Sims Metal Management, who cause harm to the environment.{{Cite web |title=Pilsen and Little Village activists want mayoral candidates to make environmental issues a priority |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/pilsen-little-village-environment-mayoral-race/ |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}

Founded in 1979 by Hazel Johnson,{{Cite web |date=2022-03-10 |title=How Hazel Johnson became ‘the mother of the environmental justice movement’ |url=https://www.wbez.org/stories/how-hazel-johnson-became-the-mother-of-the-environmental-justice-movement/ae9425c4-7420-458b-b5d8-daa5c4bc9ca5 |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=WBEZ Chicago |language=en}} People For Community Recovery (PCR) is an environmental justice group located near Altgeld Gardens. PCR was developed as a result of Johnson’s concerns regarding the correlation between cancer{{Cite web |last=Bellandi |first=Deanna |date=2023-01-20 |title=Working Together to Prevent Cervical Cancer |url=https://cancer.uillinois.edu/working-together-to-prevent-cervical-cancer/ |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=University of Illinois Cancer Center |language=en-US}} and toxic waste sites, climate change,{{Cite web |last=September 13 |last2=Sumter |first2=2022 Gina Ramirez Kyler |title=Healthier Buildings as a Climate Solution for Chicago |url=https://www.nrdc.org/experts/gina-ramirez/healthier-buildings-climate-solution-chicago |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=NRDC |language=en}} equitable economic development,{{Cite web |title=Citing environmental racism, Southeast Side activists file civil rights complaint against Chicago: ‘We’ve been a dumping ground for too many years’ |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/environment/ct-chicago-environmental-justice-civil-rights-complaint-20200813-lgbjqy6hmvbmrhbf7zpsaec56y-story.html |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=Chicago Tribune}} and the overall environmental health of the neighboring communities which border industrial sites.{{Cite web |title=How a Spike in Poor Air Quality is Impacting Chicago’s Most Polluted Neighborhoods |url=https://news.wttw.com/2020/07/09/how-spike-poor-air-quality-impacting-chicago-s-most-polluted-neighborhoods |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=WTTW News |language=en}} At the community level, PCR has developed or partnered with local programs, such as After School Matters, and Minority Worker training, which is intended for training locals for professions in the food and horticulture professions{{Cite web |last=Requena |first=Richard |date=2022-08-11 |title=Altgeld Gardens Residents Can’t Wait for Solar Project |url=https://southsideweekly.com/altgeld-gardens-residents-cant-wait-for-solar-project/ |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=South Side Weekly |language=en-US}} as well as the construction industry that deals with the management of hazardous waste.

{{Main|Little Village Environmental Justice Organization}}

Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) is a community-based non-profit organization based in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago. LVEJO was founded in 1994 {{Cite web |last=Schastok |first=Rachel |date=2015-01-13 |title=Citizens for an Unpolluted La Villita |url=https://southsideweekly.com/citizens-for-an-unpolluted-la-villita/ |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=South Side Weekly |language=en-US}} following the concern of local parents who felt renovations at Joseph E. Gary Elementary might expose students to environmental hazards including pollution from air particulates, which could contribute to asthma and lead poisoning.{{Cite web |date=2012-11-10 |title=No al carbón: Environmental Racism in Chicago |url=https://www.warresisters.org/win/win-fall-2012/no-al-carb%C3%B3n-environmental-racism-chicago |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=War Resisters League |language=en}} LVEJO's proposed mission is to promote environmental justice and community empowerment through sustainable community development, community organizing, and advocacy.

LVEJO's work primarily focuses on addressing environmental issues such as air pollution, water quality, and waste management, as well as promoting policies and practices that support social, economic, and environmental justice.{{Cite web |date=2012-11-10 |title=No al carbón: Environmental Racism in Chicago |url=https://www.warresisters.org/win/win-fall-2012/no-al-carb%C3%B3n-environmental-racism-chicago |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=War Resisters League |language=en}} Notably, LVEJO played a key role in the successful advocacy for the closure of two coal-fired power plants in the Little Village neighborhood.{{Cite news |last= |first= |date= |title=How Chicago's Mexican Immigrants Are Fighting Toxic Air Pollution |work=Pacific Standard |url=https://psmag.com/environment/chicagos-mexican-immigrants-are-fighting-toxic-air-pollution-again |access-date=2023-04-26}}{{Cite web |title=Fisk, Crawford coal plants had long history, as did battle to close them – Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-xpm-2012-09-02-ct-biz-0902-crawford-fisk-20120902-story.html |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=www.chicagotribune.com}}{{Cite web |date=2014-11-14 |title=Coal Plant Shutdown - LVEJO |url=http://www.lvejo.org/our-accomplishments/coal-plant-shutdown/ |access-date=2025-05-28 |language=en-US}}

The organization offers various programs and services to fulfill its mission, including youth leadership development, community organizing training, and environmental education initiatives.{{Cite web |title=Little Village Environmental Justice Organization - GuideStar Profile |url=https://www.guidestar.org/profile/36-4259477#mission |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=www.guidestar.org}} LVEJO also partners with other organizations and community groups to create green infrastructure projects that improve air and water quality in the Little Village neighborhood and beyond.

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Category:Wikipedia Student Program

Category:Environmental justice organizations

Category:Environmental organizations based in Chicago

Category:2007 establishments in Illinois

Category:Social justice organizations