As a resident in your ward, I am reaching out today to urge you to co-sponsor and support the Hazel M. Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance (O2025-0016697), which will address decades of environmental injustice in Chicago with rational, transparent reforms to some of our most antiquated zoning policies.

Decades of broken zoning and land use policies have concentrated the most polluting industries in particular communities in Chicago, especially communities of color where lung disease had the greatest impact. These practices have created “sacrifice zones” where large sources of air pollution like chemical plants, heavy metals recyclers, and other industrial facilities brush up against people’s homes, parks, and schools with disastrous impacts on community health. As outlined in the City of Chicago’s 2023 Cumulative Impacts Assessment, cumulative pollution in these sacrifice zones is correlated with high asthma rates, cancer clusters, and other illnesses related to exposure to industrial toxins. Low-income and Black and brown communities should not be forced to live with and bear the health burdens of the highest levels of pollution in the city, and rational changes to Chicago’s zoning policies can ensure that communities and public health are prioritized in zoning decisions.

The Hazel Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance (O2025-0016697), named after the late Chicagoan and mother of the environmental justice movement Hazel M. Johnson, is a citywide policy designed to protect communities from unfair pollution burdens by considering the combined effects of multiple pollution sources—such as traffic, industrial plants and other environmental stressors—on public health. This ordinance strengthens the zoning process for industries and facilities with the highest potential for air pollution, ensuring a more thorough and community-focused review before approval and promoting a fairer, healthier, and safer Chicago.

Chicago can address cumulative pollution as the public health crisis it is by reforming its broken zoning laws, giving community members a seat at the table in decisions that impact their environment, health and well-being, and addressing environmental racism. The more transparent and fair approach to permitting outlined in the ordinance will bring community members and alders to the table for a transparent process that helps ensure every Chicagoan lives in an environment that safeguards their health.

I urge you to co-sponsor and vote yes on the Hazel Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance (O2025-0016697)! Thank you for your consideration.