Environment & Health News
At his town hall meeting on Tuesday, July 10, Illinois 1st District State Senator Antonio "Tony" Muñoz announced a proposed state bill to mandate notice of new community sources of pollution, a response to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's flubs in conducting timely outreach about the new MAT Asphalt plant project at 4010 S. Damen Ave.
If passed, State Bill 3623 would mandate that the agency send notice to elected officials within 15 days of application of a permit for "any type of facility, equipment, vehicle, vessel or aircraft that will impact air or water pollution." Currently, the agency notifies community leaders as part of their environmental justice program using internal procedures and standards without force of law. Because of an oversight at the agency, only two weeks were provided for community notification about the MAT Asphalt plant project before its permit was granted.
Read more: Muñoz Debuts Environmental Notice Proposal at Fiery Town Hall Meeting
The Chicago Tribune newspaper has published an article by reporter Tony Briscoe that examines the MAT Asphalt plant at 4010 S. Damen Ave. and the new Neighbors for Environmental Justice group formed to bring attention to the project. The article outlines the scope of the the issues surrounding the new plant, including pollution concerns, examples of existing asphalt plant installations, the equipment at MAT Asphalt and the potential influence of Chicago politics.
Read more: Tribune Focuses on Asphalt Plant Development, New Neighborhood Environmental Group
Thanks to his low bids on City of Chicago street repaving projects, MAT Asphalt co-owner Michael Tadin Jr. announced pending work to pave McKinley Park's South Damen Avenue and other South Side streets with local asphalt installed by sister company MAT Construction. Tadin said his new asphalt plant in the Central Manufacturing District was a key element allowing him to bring in a competitive bid, upending the local asphalt market and saving money for Chicago taxpayers.
Damen will be repaved from South 33rd Street to Pershing Road, part of two district-focused arterial street contracts pending for MAT Construction. Tadin said he won the South Side bid by $700,000 and the North Side bid by hundreds of thousands of dollars, bringing in contract pricing around 12 percent to 14 percent below historical benchmarks. The asphalt will come from the MAT Asphalt plant, now in its calibration stages and set for an opening before the end of May, Tadin said.
Read more: Tadin to Pave Damen; Local Group Announces Air Quality Monitoring
The Wednesday, April 25, community meeting about the new MAT Asphalt plant packed a capacity crowd into the main room of the McKinley Park branch of the Chicago Public Library. The meeting, organized by the 12th Ward Independent Political Organization, brought together panelists representing MAT Asphalt, the 12th Ward, residents and local environmental activists. It attracted so many attendees that latecomers had to be turned away at the door, unable to squeeze into the standing-room-only event.
Panelists included 12th Ward Alderman George Cardenas, McKinley Park neighborhood resident Kim Wasserman of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Olga Bautista of Our City Our Voice, neighborhood resident and environmental scientist Amber Cicotte and Joe Haughey and Tony Sanchez, representing two of the three businesses partnered to create MAT Asphalt LLC. 12th Ward IPO President Billy Drew hosted and emceed the meeting.
Read more: Neighbors, Panelists Debate Asphalt Plant Project at Community Meeting
The McKinley Park Underage Drinking & Other Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (McK-UDOS) is reaching out to local youth with information on alcohol consumption as part of the coalition's campaign for Alcohol Awareness Month.
Although drinking may often be portrayed as a rite of passage for teens as they end the school year with events like prom, alcohol consumption takes a heavy hit on young brains that won't finish full development until a person reaches their mid-20s, according to research cited by the coalition.
Read more: McKinley Park Coalition Targets Springtime Teen Drinking
