Are you on Facebook? Want to see what we’re up to? Our Facebook page is one of the most active platforms that we have. It’s also full of beautiful pictures of our community gatherings, EJ magic, and more! Click that “like” button to see us on your feed! // ¿Tienes Facebook? ¿Quieres ver qué estamos haciendo? Nuestra página de Facebook es una de las plataformas más activas que tenemos. ¡También está lleno de bellas imágenes de nuestras reuniones comunitarias, magia EJ y más! ¡Haga clic en el botón “Me gusta” para vernos en su feed!
March 2020
- As of March 13, 2020 LVEJO Offices are closed but reachable online or by phone! Take a look at the resource guide our staff has created to help Little Village residents regarding COVID-19 (Coronavirus). HERE
- A partir del 13 de marzo de 2020, las oficinas de LVEJO están cerradas, pero se puede comunicar con nosotros por el internet o por teléfono. Eche un vistazo a la guía de recursos que nuestro personal ha creado para ayudar a los residentes de La Villita con respecto a COVID-19 (Coronavirus). AQUÍ
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On March 5, 2020, LVEJO reached out to various allies across the city to sign-on to a response letter to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency of Planning (CMAP)’s Request for Proposal (RFP) NO. 213, “CMAP Freight Studies: Chicago Southwest Communities Truck Abatement Study.”
This study comes as a result of the successful organizing and advocacy of the Little Village community, LVEJO and allies through the Little Village Industrial Corridor Modernization Process. The LVICM process highlighted that there had not been a traffic/truck study on the southwest side in over 25 years, yet massive warehouses and transportation, logistics and delivery (TDL)’s are being proposed and approved all over the southwest side. We are calling for this proposal to put public health and community welfare first. We are demanding that whoever conducts the Southwest Communities Truck Abatement Study should be required to meet with LVEJO and the community before they begin, in order to best understand the current environmental issues, and the existing “hotspots” of congestion. Considering LVEJO has data that the DPD, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), as well as CMAP do not have, LVEJO and the community should be considered as much of an expert as any city agency, business/industry representative, consulting firms, and advocacy organizations not based in the Little Village community or the broader Southwest Side.
Additionally, the People for Community Recovery (PCR), Southeast Environmental Task Force (SETF), Blacks in Green (BIG), Southeast Side Coalition to Ban Petcoke (SSCBP), the fellow members of the Chicago Environmental Justice Network (CEJN) alongside LVEJO, should be considered as experts on this issue, as well. The CEJN includes members from the Southwest and Southeast sides of the city, the two areas of the city most impacted by Trucking, Distribution, and Logistics (TDL). It is our communities, and our partners that are the most impacted by truck impacts in the city. We are intimately familiar with truck impacts in their many forms, and are part of national networks of similar community advocates and their supporters working on diesel transportation issues. At minimum, if CMAP is to continue forward with this RFP as generally framed, it is critical that the community advocates who have been at the forefront of gauging and raising awareness about truck and distribution system impacts be in the lead in assessing hot spots and developing solutions. We are concerned that the current RFP does not include such a lead role for communities, nor does it include substantive public participation in the study design, metrics, or implementation. We strongly encourage CMAP to revise the RFP consistent with these concerns, and we are available to discuss how CMAP can move forward in a way that prioritizes communities at the earliest opportunity. View HERE!
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Upcoming community meetings | Proximás juntas comunitarias
- Opportunities for community residents and allies to support Little Village’s right to breathe clean air! // ¡Oportunidades para que residentes y aliados de la comunidad apoyen el derecho de La Villita a respirar aire limpio!
- Community meetings regarding Hilco’s new tenant: Target Warehouse
- Reunión comunitarias sobre el nuevo inquilino de Hilco: Target Warehouse
- Miércoles 18 de Marzo de 2020 a partir de las 6pm en la Casa de Campo de Piotrowski Park – 4247 W. 31st Street.
- ¿Se perdieron la junta el 4 de Marzo de 2020? No se preocupen, nuestro equipo esta trabajando para traducir la presentación.
- UPDATE: Chicago’s Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety will be hearing on the importance to limit the weight of Heavy Diesel Trucks on S. Kostner Ave between 26th – 31st Street.
- Thursday, March 12, 2020 starting at 2pm at City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle St, room 201A.
- ACTUALIZACIÓN: El Comité de Seguridad de Peatones y Tráfico de Chicago escuchará sobre la importancia de limitar el peso de los Camiones Pesados de Diesel en S. Kostner Ave entre las calles 26 a 31.
- Jueves 12 de Marzo de 2020 comenzando a las 2pm en la municipalidad, 121 N. LaSalle St, cuarto 201A.
Feb. 20 – 26, 2020
More industry in Little Village and No Plan in Sight
CHICAGO, IL — Wednesday, February 26, 2020 – We are at the one year mark of the release of the Little Village Industrial Corridor Modernization Plan (LVICMP), which was produced by the Department of Planning and Development (DPD). The LVICMP was the result of a 9-month process, during which LVEJO advocated for a significant increase in environmental health protections for the community, as well as much stricter regulations and enforcement on current industries in the area. However, the DPD released a plan that prioritized infrastructure for transportation (Trucking, Distribution, Logistics), and that did not prioritize the environmental health of the neighborhood.
After many organizations and community members submitted public comments regarding their displeasure with the plan, the process was halted. We’re at the one year anniversary of the halting of this process, and we still do not have clarity from the DPD on whether or not the process will continue. Meanwhile, new industrial developments continue to be approved in the neighborhood with minimal regulations. Little Village already has the 2nd worst air quality in the state, and is in desperate need of a modernization plan that effectively regulates industry, and prioritizes the environmental health of the community. The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) have told Little Village residents to close their windows and shut their doors, a ridiculous response, the fact is that CDPH is not given sufficient budget to operate, but other large scale developments like Lincoln Yards and Exchange 55 are giving taxpayers money and handout in hopes of bringing opportunities to the City of Chicago.
We demand:
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- Commitment from the Mayor’s Office and DPD to restart the Little Village Industrial Corridor Modernization Process. Our city needs to make sure current industries in our neighborhood are brought to standards and move towards a just transition.
- The City needs to install permanent air monitors in the cumulative burden of environmental exposures neighborhoods. Residents have the right to learn about the air quality around them;
- The Chicago Department of Public Health needs to increase research efforts to monitor the environmental health of its communities. Their lack of air pollution enforcement is due to insufficient data and inadequate protocols for how to prioritize the highest-risk facilities for inspection.
- Cook County Assessor’s Office needs to rescind the $19.7 Million dollar tax break Hilco received back in Jan. of 2019. No more corporate handout to polluters!
- Commitment from Chicago’s Department of Transportation to conduct comprehensive traffic studies every 5 years. Since the creation of Chicago’s Industrial Corridor, 25 years ago, the Little Village community continues to be burdened by the exponential growth of heavy, dirty, diesel truck traffic. Before approving industrial projects in our neighborhood we need to understand if we even have the infrastructure in place for additional traffic volume.
Chicago communities have been under siege when it comes to having a voice in the planning of our city and use of city resources. The city’s planning for resilience to climate change is not only in the planning and protection of our lakefront trails, but also in our industrial corridors. The city has housed industries for over a century with minimal inspections and hardly any citations. Residents across our city have been outspoken about the amount of pollution that is being emitted and some of the actions have been to relocate industries from the north side to the southwest / southeast sides. The health impacts of poor air quality are burdensome to individuals, families, and healthcare systems. Our neighborhoods are ready to transition to renewable energy where we want equitable development and eager to participate. Chicago communities are ready for a just transition away from all fossil fuels that prioritizes environmental justice, public health, community self-determination, high quality jobs and ownership opportunities for local residents.
LVEJO Facebook @LVEJO2020 // LVEJO Twitter @LVEJO // LVEJO Instagram @LVEJO20
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