February 17, 2011

Citizens surprise Mayor Daley with floating balloon banner calling on him to close city’s coal plants
Daley must close plants to preserve a “green legacy”

Chicago – Concerned citizens surprised Mayor Daley today by releasing a balloon-propelled message calling on him to close Chicago’s two coal-burning power plants.

The citizens floated a banner to the ceiling of the City Hall atrium that read “Mayor Daley, is this your ‘green legacy’?” with a picture of smokestacks, a reference to the Fisk and Crawford coal-burning power plants in Pilsen and Little Village.

Photos of the banner are available here: www.flickr.com/photos/greenpeaceusa09/

“For years our communities have been dealing with the health effects from the Fisk and Crawford plants and we have had enough” said Ian Viteri, a community organizer with Little Village Environmental Justice Organization. “Our people are dying while politicians are stalling.”

Fisk and Crawford are among the country’s oldest power plants, rebuilt in the 1950s. More than 10% of Chicago’s population (310,173 residents) live within three miles of the plant, and they cause illness and death every day they remain open. A 2010 report released by the Clean Air Task Force found that the Fisk plant in Pilsen and the Crawford plant in Little Village are responsible for over 40 deaths and 720 asthma attacks annually. Chicago is the asthma epicenter of the nation, with asthma hospitalization rate at nearly double the national average. In some neighborhoods, 44% of children suffer from asthma.

A growing number of Aldermen in City Hall are championing a potential solution called the Clean Power Ordinance, an important step toward closing Fisk and Crawford and holding Midwest Generation accountable for the devastation it causes.

Mayor Daley, however, has blocked the Ordinance’s progress at every turn. This month, the mayor and his allies in City Hall refused to grant the Ordinance a hearing in the Energy, Environmental Protection and Public Utilities that is necessary for it to advance to a full City Council vote.

“We’re tired of Mayor Daley playing politics with people’s lives. An estimated 30 people have died from these plants since the Ordinance was introduced last year. The mayor’s green legacy depends on whether he sides with the people of Chicago and closes down these plants,” said Edyta Sitko, a field organizer with Greenpeace.

For more information about today’s action or the Clean Power Ordinance, please contact:
Ian Viteri, community organizer with Little Village Environmental Justice at 773.208.2094
or
Edyta Sitko, Greenpeace Field Organizer, 812.219.4644.