Climate March Comes to Elwood in September

ELWOOD, IL — This year, the People's Climate March in Chicago is coming to Elwood, Illinois, home to the largest inland port in the United States to demand clean energy, better working conditions, and just behavior from government officials. The theme of the march is "Rise for Climate, Jobs and Justice," and that is exactly what people intend to do on September 8th, 2018.

WHY MARCH
In Will County and in cities across the country, individuals and families will be marching as part of the People's Climate Movement. This year, the focus of the march is multifaceted — focusing not just on climate, but on the many overlapping issues that affect climate, safety, jobs and our quality of life.

LOCAL IMPACT

For many who live in communities near the intermodal, we are joining the People's Climate March to take a stand to show developers, politicians and special interest groups that we will not tolerate the continued onslaught of irresponsible and unsafe development. Our communities are being ravaged by developers and special interest groups who force their agenda on citizens — the decisions being made are reckless, dangerous and profiting developers, but at a tremendous cost to our community.

These projects are causing unsafe driving conditions due to traffic congestion resulting from insufficient highway space and an additional burden to our infrastructure that is currently dilapidated and in desperate need of repair. Traffic can be so gridlocked that getting from one place to another becomes nearly impossible. Traffic accidents happen on a daily basis, with many of them causing serious injury and some resulting in the loss of life.

Furthermore, most of these projects are funded by taxpayers by way of tax abatements, TIFs and other government subsidies. These tax breaks take away the prospect of a financial benefit to the community — one of the largest reasons supporters champion major warehousing projects is the perceived revenue. However, in many cases, there is no tax benefit to the community due to the government handouts being given to developers. Citizens are then further burdened with having to pay for infrastructure improvements resulting from damage caused by the increased traffic.

This industrial area is a key source of pollution that contributes to the climate change crisis and unhealthy living conditions for the surrounding community. Elwood is located in Will County, which has more than 300 warehouses, including many operated by major retailers and big polluters like Amazon and Walmart, both of which have received massive tax breaks from our local governments. Most warehouse jobs in the area are non-union, pay poverty wages and are filled by temp workers, the majority of whom are people of color and immigrants.

This past summer, air quality testing was done on some of our local roads, with diesel particulate matter readings up to 74µg/m³! For comparison, the EPA sets the standard for air quality at 12µg/m³. This is SIGNIFICANTLY more allowable diesel particulate matter than the EPA standards! This is a direct result of the number of diesel vehicles transporting goods in one concentrated area around the intermodal.

With these reasons in mind, among many others, the 2018 People's Climate March has come to Elwood, Illinois to demand action.

THE MARCH

The Elwood march will begin at O’Connor Park, located kitty-corner to the Walmart distribution center at 26453 Walton Dr., followed by a march to the nearby BNSF Logistics Park Chicago, where the group will seek a meeting with management to discuss their concerns and demands. BNSF Railroad, owned by billionaire Warren Buffett, moves shipping containers originally from southeast Asia to Los Angeles to Elwood. It takes place on September 8th at 12:30pm.

WHO IS INVOLVED

Locally, the Illinois PCM coalition will demonstrate in Elwood because the city is a local transportation and distribution hub that is home to largest inland port in North America. The People's Climate Movement an organized movement of people joining together since 2014 to effect change. You can learn more about the movement, its roots, and past events by visiting the website.

Learn why No to NorthPoint, a grassroots, non-partisan group of Will County residents, is marching alongside folks from the Sierra Club and Warehouse Workers for Justice, among many other groups, by visiting the No to NorthPoint website.

The Illinois PCM coalition includes: Act Connect Engage DuPage, Action Now, Blacks in Green, Blue Green Alliance, Chicago 350, Chicago EJ Network, Citizens Climate Lobby, The Climate Reality Project – Chicago, IL Chapter, Democratic Socialists of America, Fight for 15, Food and Water Watch, Illinois Coalition of Immigration and Refugee Rights, Illinois People’s Action, Jobs with Justice, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, National Nurses United, SEIU Local 1, Sierra Club IL Chapter, Southern Illinoisans Against Fracturing Our Environment, The People’s Lobby, Union of Concerned Scientists, Warehouse Workers for Justice.

RSVP ONLINE

You can RSVP by clicking "GOING" on the Facebook event. We encourage all to attend on September 8th at 12:30pm.