CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A proposed ordinance introduced in the Chicago City Council this week is designed to ease the air pollution burden on residents of communities that have already borne the brunt of air polluting industries.
"I hope it...results in a cleaner Southeast Side," said 10th Ward Alderman Susan Sadlowski-Garza.
Her community has been heavily industrialized for more than 150 years.
She said the new, proposed zoning ordinance will result in people having more input into the manufacturing plants, incinerators, and recyclers that want to move into her community and other neighborhoods that are heavily industrialized.
"At its core, this ordinance is about environmental equity and justice," Mayor Lightfoot said.
"We will never truly establish an economy that works for all Chicagoans if some polluting industries unfairly burden certain neighborhoods with the false choice of jobs or dirty air," she added.
The changes in the Air Quality and Zoning Ordinance includes requiring certain businesses to undergo additional review and public comment before being allowed to open. Tht includes intensive manufacturers, recyclers and freight/logistics companies.
The city said the review will ensure that the city can "reasonably balance its environmental protections with a growing economy and expanding businesses."
Traditionally, Ald. Sadlowski-Garza said, her ward has gotten all the "dirty industries shoved our way and this is going to make it, you know, a lot harder for them to come here."
The alderman said the ordinance would not impact the planned move of scrap recycler General Iron from Lincoln Park to the East Side neighborhood.
"Reserve Marine Recycle has been back there for 28 years doing the same exact thing. So, we're not actually getting a new business back there. They didn't need zoning change," she said.
Sadlowski-Garza said the company is making $8-million in facility upgrades to greatly reduce emissions.
Chicago Public Health Cmsr. Dr. Allison Arwady said addressing air pollution is one of her team's top priorities, "particularly in communities with higher rates of chronic disease and social factors that make it harder for people to access care."
"The Air Quality and Health Report makes clear that Chicago's residents, especially those in the West and Southeast Sides, face inequitable burdens from air pollution and this ordinance is an important step in ensuring that, one day, no Chicagoan will unfairly suffer from the effects from air pollution," Dr. Arwady said.
