Chicago

Stop stacking pollution on the same neighborhoods

Before the city approves another polluting plant, it would have to count the pollution the neighborhood already carries.

The bill

Hazel M. Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance (O2025-0016697)

Where it stands

Introduced in April 2025 and sent to the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards in September 2025. It has been sitting there ever since with no vote scheduled.

No account. About a minute.

What it would do

A company asking to rezone land for heavy industry has to report the pollution the neighborhood already carries.
The city has to weigh that existing pollution before approving more of it.
Creates an environmental justice project manager and an advisory board inside city government.
Adds relocation requirements for the companies it covers.
Named for Hazel M. Johnson, who organized against industrial pollution around Altgeld Gardens on the Far South Side.

Read the proposal yourself

Do not take our word for any of this.

The city's announcement of the ordinance chicago.gov The full ordinance record, O2025-0016697 Chicago Councilmatic

From Rooted Forward

Why this matters

The city's own study found the worst pollution burdens sit on Black and Latino neighborhoods on the South and West sides.
Those are largely the same blocks the federal government graded red in 1940, and the same ones the city later zoned for heavy industry.
The bill has sat in one committee since September 2025 with no vote scheduled.
A committee that never votes never has to go on record.

Add your name

We hand the signatures to the committee sitting on this bill, along with a public comment from Rooted Forward.

No account. About a minute.

Where our facts come from

Mayor Brandon Johnson Introduces the Hazel Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance City of Chicago, April 2025
Ordinance O2025-0016697 Chicago Councilmatic
In Chicago, a Landmark Environmental Justice Bill Inches Toward Passage Inside Climate News, July 2, 2025
Ask your alderperson to act on the Hazel M. Johnson environmental health ordinance now The TRiiBE, June 2026