Extinction Rebellion Chicago
During the COVID-19 Crisis, XR continues to work in the ways that we can. For the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, we helped organize a socially-distanced car caravan in partnership with the EarthDay2MayDay Coalition of labor, environmental justice, climate, anti-racism and immigrant rights groups.
We began in the Little Village neighborhood—home to our partner LVEJO and site of recent and ongoing environmental racism—and caravan-ed/blockaded to City Hall, to demand action and justice for Little Village. The caravan was almost 100 cars long, and was covered by local media.
The image above shows the coal plant, now closed, which once poisoned Little Village residents. Now owned by developer HILCO, the smokestack was toppled during the pandemic, with no health and safety oversight—releasing a tremendous cloud of toxic particulate matter into the community. We know that people who have particulate matter in their lungs are 15% more likely to die of COVID-19, so we are demanding restitution to the community and a just and clean recovery for this polluted site. Additionally, HILCO must be held accountable for their reckless endangerment.
Image credit: Youngrae Kim