1. José Miguel Acosta Córdova
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization
3rd Yr PhD Student, University of Illinois,
Geography and GIS
Chicago: The Inland Port City

2. Acknowledgement of the land: Who
were the Indigenous Peoples of the
Chicago area?
https://native-land.ca/

5. who we are
-Environmental justice
organization
-Based out of South
Lawndale/Little Village
-Established in 1994
-part of Countless communities
fighting the same fight LVEJO

6. - Just Transition
- Food Justice
- Water Justice
- Open Space/Park
Justice
LVEJO CAMpaigns

8. EJ Victories are possible - Opened in the 1920s
- Caused 550 ER visits, 1,800
severe asthma attacks, 42
premature deaths every year
- Was actually not required to
follow the EPA Clean Air Act
since they were “grandfathered
in”
- Closed in 2012 after a 12 year
community fight!
- Replaced by a 1.3 million sq ft
distribution center

9. A Just Transition: transforming
toxic spaces to public spaces
- La Villita Park was the first park
built in LV for over 50 years
- Took about 14 years to change this
land to a park, was once an asphalt
roofing company called Celotex.
- This beautiful park sits on top of
super contaminated land, known as a
superfund site.
- Community members designed the
park themselves after Park District
designs only showed soccer fields
😐
- Opened in 2014 for political
reasons...

12. Manufacturing
Manufacturing and Moving &
Storing Goods
Business to Business
Info & Tech

14. - Most important inland geographic point in the continent
- 6 out of 7 Class I railroads - Where the Eastern meet the
Western
- Approximately 25 percent of all freight trains and 50 percent
of all intermodal trains in the U.S. pass through metropolitan
Chicago
- Trucks account for about one in seven vehicles on the urban
interstate highways in Illinois, and some facilities in
metropolitan Chicago carry over 30,000 trucks each day
- O’Hare airport is one of the nation’s largest and
fastest-growing air-cargo hubs
- Approximately 1.1 billion square feet of industrial
development supporting freight and manufacturing activity.
- Industries that rely on the frequent shipment of goods --
manufacturing, construction, retail trade, and wholesale
trade -- represent over one-quarter of all jobs in the region
and add over $158 billion per year to the regional economy.
Chicago: Freight Hub of North America

16. 16

17. Barriers to Reform
- Lack of regulatory entities at city or state level
(Port Authority, CARB and Air Quality/Pollution
Control Districts)
- Lack of state policies that enforce electrification
- Why we are currently working on this in coalition
- NET Z - advocating for Advanced Clean Truck
(ACT) Rule and NOx Omnibus Rule

18. Follow us!
office@lvejo.org
(773) 762-6991
2445 S. Spaulding Ave.
Chicago, IL. 60623
@LVEJO
@LVEJO20
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO)
@LVEJO20