Latest news with #JustTransitionNorthwestIndiana
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Local activists undeterred after report shows Trump administration removed environmental data
A new report shows how environmental information has been deleted since President Donald Trump was inaugurated, but local activists refuse to let the changes impact how they operate. 'With every stroke of the pen and deletion, Trump can try to eliminate environmental and climate justice from his administration, but he won't erase our communities,' Ashley Williams, executive director of Just Transition Northwest Indiana, said in a statement. 'We are a testament that the fight will continue because everyone should have access to a clean, healthy environment and a better quality of life.' The Environmental Data and Governance Initiative released a 55-page report detailing how the Trump administration has altered the availability of environmental information in the last six months. Information about environmental justice and climate change have disappeared from federal websites, according to the organization. 'The pace and severity of this administration's attacks on environmental information in its first six months have been far worse than in the first Trump administration,' Izzy Pacenza, lead author of the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative study, said in a news release. The Environmental Data and Governance Initiative's website governance team monitored more than 4,000 federal environmental pages to find changes for the report. According to its data, the organization found 70% more website changes in Trump's first 100 days in office in 2025 compared to during his first term in 2017. The organization is monitoring 20% of the webpages it tracked for changes during the first Trump administration. Information about climate change has been altered and removed, including from the U.S. Global Change Research Program website and informational resources from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website. Climate change information remains 'virtually unaltered' on the Environmental Protection Agency's website, according to the report. 'The Trump administration's changes to public information are part of a broader agenda to reshape the form and function of the federal government,' according to the report. Changes relating to environmental justice and diversity, equity and inclusion have been made most frequently, according to the report. Information about environmental racism has been 'entirely excised' from federal websites, according to the report. Environmental racism is the intentional pollution and waste facilities in communities primarily made up of people of color, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Those communities are disproportionately exposed to fumes, toxic dust, ash, soot and other pollutants, according to the NRDC. Gary was one of the communities visited by EPA officials in 2022 due to its history of heavy industry and proximity to five Superfund sites. At the time, residents were encouraged to keep tabs on environmental data. Removing language about environmental racism denies facts and generates misinformation, as well as undermines the collective ability to address issues. 'Trustworthy information is critical for a functioning democracy,' Gretchen Gehrke, study lead author, said in a news release. 'These removals reflect a broad deregulatory agenda by this administration to disavow the intersecting issues of environmental justice and climate change.' Carolyn McCrady, member of Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, responded to the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative Study's findings, calling federal cuts relentless, ruthless and lawless, especially for communities of color. 'While (they are) depriving organizations, cities and states of the funds needed to repair environmental damage, they are also destroying the laws that provided protection since the inception of the EPA,' McCrady said in a text. 'But the assault will only strengthen the resolve of people to fight to protect and preserve the very foundation of life in these targeted communities. No one is giving up.' Earlier this year, in Indiana, Gov. Mike Braun signed two executive orders that target the environment, including one to make state regulations consistent with national ones and one prohibiting the use of the phrase 'environmental justice' in permitting, enforcement and grant decisions. '…the concept of 'environmental justice' has become increasingly politicized and has often led to the introduction of subjective, non-scientific factors into environmental policy and regulation…' according to one executive order. Northwest Indiana activists previously told the Post-Tribune that Braun's executive orders were concerning, and targeting environmental justice would be harmful for the public health and wellbeing of region communities. In July, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a plan to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding at an Indianapolis auto dealership, which Braun and other Indiana officials supported in person. The 2009 Endangerment Finding found six greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare of current and future generations. The American Lung Association announced in April that Hoosiers are breathing some of the nation's most polluted air in its 'State of the Air' report. The Indianapolis metro area ranked at the 54th worst in the nation for ozone pollution and 21st worst for particle pollution. In Northwest Indiana, the American Lung Association gave Lake County failing grades in three categories: ozone pollution, 24-hour particle pollution and annual particle pollution. Porter County only received a passing grade for annual particle pollution. Ozone and particle pollution can cause premature death and other health effects, including asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, preterm birth and impaired cognitive function, according to the American Lung Association. The organization also found particle pollution can cause lung cancer. 'Indiana ranks as the worst state for pollution,' Williams said. 'Northwest Indiana is the epicenter of these emissions. This reality is getting worse with each rollback, each attack on those most vulnerable.'
Chicago Tribune
6 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Michigan City council tables data center resolutions
Multiple Michigan City residents voiced concerns about transparency with the city's council at its Monday meeting, specifically regarding a potential data center in the area. The Michigan City Common Council held a marathon meeting Monday night, with multiple resolutions on the table related to a potential data center in the community. Comments including concerns with water and electric usage, proximity to schools and health, and environmental impacts. 'You're facing a decision that could reshape the future of Michigan City for generations,' said Ashley Williams, Michigan City resident and executive director of Just Transition Northwest Indiana. 'I urge you to table … every subsequent resolution with Phoenix indefinitely and give this community an honest and transparent process. For God's sake, it is what they deserve.' Williams also asked council members if the investment is worth sacrificing their health and that of their neighbors, and if the project is worth sacrificing the city's future. Multiple residents claimed the city council wasn't transparent about when they would be discussing the data center plans. Council members asked questions about all resolutions considered and heard public comment. Councilwoman Nancy Moldenhauer, D-6th, said she wants to look at how a data center might impact noise and pollution in the area, specifically from diesel-powered generators. Moldenhauer would also like to see minimal environmental impact from any facility that's built in the community, she said during Monday's meeting. 'I ran on the promise to my community that I'm standing for health, well-being and quality of life for all people, not just the people living in Ward 6, but for every single resident of Michigan City,' Moldenhauer said. 'My commitment is to make sure everyone is safe and not being harmed by this. Anything we can do to go through these various layers of concern, I think would be beneficial to us.' All resolutions were tabled until the first meeting of September after motions by Councilman Vidya Kora, D-at large. Tabling resolutions would allow residents to ask more questions and get the answers they're seeking, he said. 'As a matter of fact, I want to do some research myself on the health effects of it,' Kora said. 'I understand the concerns that have been expressed, but at the same time, if we don't move forward with new technologies and bringing new opportunities, then we'll fall behind as a community. … If we take a little more time, and try to understand the effects of it, that's a reasonable thing.' Data centers proposals have garnered a mixed reception across Northwest Indiana — with projects going forward in LaPorte and Merrillville and getting rejected at the intial pitch stage in Burns Harbor, Chesterton and Valparaiso. One resolution — which was adopted June 3 — was on the table for public hearing Monday night. The resolution would designate a portion of the city as a Cooper Economic Revitalization area, according to the council's agenda. Other resolutions would grant Phoenix Michigan City Investors LLC tax abatements for the property, confirm the area as an economic revitalization area and approve a taxpayer agreement for 'Project Maize,' also known as a data center that would be located at 402 Royal Road. The current address is owned by Phoenix Investors, a Milwaukee-based company that deals in acquiring, developing, renovating and repositioning industrial facilities nationwide, according to its website. It is unclear who would operate the data center if the project is ultimately approved. In a July 14 statement, Michigan City Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch said city government officials were made aware of a potential data center development. Nelson Deuitch's administration and council members entered into non-disclosure agreements to review the concept in a confidential executive session. Nelson Deuitch's statement said the $800 million capital investment would come with 'limited job creation and no assurances of community reinvestment or substantial tax impact.' No formal agreement was reached at the time, Nelson Deuitch's statement said, and did not present binding commitments to ensure lasting benefits to Michigan City residents. 'No formal proposal regarding local incentives has been brought to the City Council for consideration, and at this time, there are no plans to pursue the project,' Nelson Deuitch said in her statement. 'Michigan City welcomes innovation and responsible investment, but our administration will always advocate for economic growth that is equitable, transparent and in the public interest.' Michigan City resident Paul Przybylinski shared his concerns with the data center, saying he has issues with language that would allow for 40 years of tax abatements. 'How much, in the end, is this going to be negative to the city?' Przybylinski asked during Monday's meeting. 'They already have tax credits from the state, but at the end of the 40 years, how much money are we going to be out?' Przybylinski is also concerned with the cost of the project, saying the number has only continued to increase. 'You are elected to represent us, and there needs to be transparency,' Przybylinski said to council members. 'There's been no transparency with this whole operation. … I am blaming the city council president for not making this more public.' State Rep. Pat Boy, D-Michigan City, spoke at Monday's meeting, asking how many employees will be hired, how city residents will benefit from the facility, how much water will be used, and how much electricity bills might increase because of the facility. 'I hope someone can address (my questions) sooner rather than later,' Boy said. Resolutions regarding the data center will be discussed again at the Michigan City council's first September meeting.
Chicago Tribune
22-07-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
‘Reindustrialization is neglect': East Chicago tour offers perspective on industry, housing needs
When a municipality attempts to reindustrialize, especially without creating housing to accommodate it, it's probably lost the plot for current and potential residents, if you ask Emiliano Aguilar. No greater evidence of that is the former West Calumet Housing Complex in East Chicago, on which a spec warehouse now sits, Aguilar explained Saturday afternoon during the Industrial Heritage bus tour hosted by activist group Just Transition Northwest Indiana. What once was home to some 1,000 residents before the city shut it down because of the catastrophic lead levels in the soil was rezoned as M-1 Light Industrial land in 2020, presumably to attempt to revitalize a city decimated by big industry's continued contraction. The city in 2022 put up a spec warehouse on the old Edward Valve site on 143rd Street, where Midwest Historian and assistant History Professor for Notre Dame Aguilar's grandfather worked, too. As of a few months ago, it was still advertising its availability. 'Reindustrialization is neglect,' Aguilar said to the 20 or so people who hopped on the bus. 'East Chicago is zoned 75% industrial, but 19% residential and 5% for small businesses.' East Chicago, and really the entire Calumet Region, became the place where Chicago shoved all its heavy industry in the mid-1800s while it rebranded itself into a place of leisure, with the Illinois Central, Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroads setting down tracks in 1850. When the federal government switched the Grand Calumet's flow from west to east in the 1870s, the Hammond Packing Company, which pioneered refrigeration, and myriad other heavy industries rapidly set down roots after that, Aguilar said. But industry and its need for workers far outpaced residential building — Holy Trinity Croatian Church Rev. Clement Mlinanovich at one point pleaded with the Diocese of South Bend that he had a church, but his flock was living in tents around it – and attempts to rectify it were only so successful, Aguilar said. There was Marktown, the 190-acre industrial community with all early 20th century amenities designed by Chicago architecht Howard Van Doren Shaw at the behest of Howard Mark, but through a bunch of transactions that ended with the property getting sold to a real estate company that turned around and sold properties in it to individual landlords, it lost nearly all of its glory, he said. Marktown residents endured racial criticism and staved off two more takeover attempts – when Youngstown Sheet and Tin tried to get the community rezoned for a tin mill in the 1950s and again when Indiana Gov. Edwin Whitcomb wanted to raze a third of the neighborhood for the Cline Avenue expansion – but the community, now a Historic Landmark but worse for the wear, faces a new enemy in BP, which has been buying up and razing properties from individual lanlords since 1998, Aguilar said. He doesn't hold out much hope that Marktown will survive much longer. 'Kim Rodriguez, a third-generation resident of Marktown, has said, 'The community has always stood strong and fought for what was good,'' Aguilar said. 'But with reindustrialization, I can see Marktown ending up no more than two blocks when it's all said and done. Look at what happened with the First National Bank building: It was a Historic Landmark, but Walgreens came in and demolished it anyway, and now the Walgreens is closed. 'While preservation looks nice, there's no teeth to it.' Any money the city received for 'urban renewal,' such as the $20 million it received in 1959 for the Block and Pennsy project and the $13.4 million U.S. Housing and Urban Development gave it to build the housing complex at West Calumet in the 1970s, was largely given to friends of various mayors, who established 'concrete barriers' within East Chicago, Aguilar said. And with the Anaconda Copper Plant and U.S. Steel Lead Plant having been located on or near what became the West Calumet Housing Complex and former Carrie Gosch Elementary School, if the last five mayors didn't know the extent of the contamination, they at least had to have had an idea it was there, he maintained. Akeeshea Daniels, who became the face of the West Calumet Housing Complex when Mayor Anthony Copeland vacated it in 2016, would've attended the bus tour but sent her regrets with Lisa Vallee, organizing director with JTNWI. Going anywhere near that place triggers her deeply, Vallee said. 'She did everything she was supposed to do, and everyone still ignored her. If she weren't a Black woman, it might've been different,' Vallee said of Daniels, whose family suffered lead poisoning. 'In white communities, you have to disclose lead. No one cared here.' Kieran Walsh, of Chicago, grew up in a small town outside Pittsburgh. East Chicago's story resonated with him. 'It looks like where I'm from,' Walsh said. 'It makes me think about the impact of industry and what happened in my town.' 'Greed is the same everywhere,' added Daniel Feldstin, also of Chicago.
Chicago Tribune
07-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
NWI environmental groups praise cancellation of plastic waste facility
Plans to create a plastic waste facility have been canceled, and Northwest Indiana activists are pleased by the decision. Just Transition Northwest Indiana and Gary Advocates for Responsible Development were two organizations that praised an April 3 announcement from International Recycling Group that it's canceling its proposed plastic waste facility. International Recycling Group could not be reached for comment Monday. The proposed facility would have operated in Erie, Pennsylvania, and collected plastic waste from a 750-mile radius and turned waste into smaller plastic pieces to be burned in steel mills, according to a news release from Beyond Plastics. Activists believed U.S. Steel's Gary Works facility would have been included in the project, but the company was not specifically named in the project. In August, a spokesman for U.S. Steel told the Post-Tribune that any announcement of involvement would come from the company, but U.S. Steel never announced its involvement, according to the company's website. The steel company declined to comment on the project cancellation Monday. 'We are always seeking ways to improve the environment, increase our recycling efforts and reduce fossil fuel use,' said an August statement to the Post-Tribune. 'Opportunities are reviewed and vetted by our operations and environmental teams based on the safety, environmental and operational merits of any individual project.' Dorreen Carey, GARD president, said in a statement that she was pleased by the decision not to continue the project because of how it might impact Northwest Indiana. 'Burning plastic waste in the blast furnace would have emitted additional health harming toxic emissions to the already polluted air of Gary and surrounding Northwest Indiana communities,' Carey said. In 2019, four of Indiana's top 10 highest polluting industrial facilities were in Northwest Indiana, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Indiana led the nation in toxic pollution emitted per square mile. Susan Thomas, director of policy and press for Just Transition Northwest Indiana, said in a statement that the project was a false solution and greenwashing attempt. 'This project would have exacerbated toxic emissions in Northwest Indiana, harming regional health and the environment and furthering the 'sacrifice zone' status,' Thomas said. 'This is a stigma that industrial communities here are working mightily to counter. Just Transition Northwest Indiana is proud to be part of a unified multi-state, multi-organizational effort to stop this scheme and demand real solutions that uplift environmental justice.' In August, 106 environmental and community groups submitted a letter to former U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, asking her to withdraw a $182.6 million loan guarantee for the proposed plastic waste facility. Funding for the grant came from climate funding provided through the Inflation Reduction Act, according to Beyond Plastics.
Chicago Tribune
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Hammond advocacy group, mayor continue to fight over future of Briar East Woods
Seven years after Hammond residents began advocating for a histori forest, they are continuing to fight against city officials. A group of Hammond residents are working to save Briar East Woods, a 4,000-year-old forest in Hammond's Hessville neighborhood that is one of the last surviving remnants of the High Tolleston Dunes, according to Just Transition Northwest Indiana's website. Briar East Woods is the location of the proposed Governors Parkway, an overpass that would link 173rd Street and 169th Street between Parrish Avenue and Grand Avenue. The overpass will reduce travel time for motorists and emergency response vehicles. 'Once it is built, Hessville will be able to conduct normal business, despite the constant stopped trains that typically paralyze traffic without the bridge,' Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott said in a text to the Post-Tribune. 'As a result of Governors Parkway, public safety times will dramatically improve as well, which will save lives in the process.' Some residents have continued advocating against the project, such as through speaking at Hammond City Council meetings. Residents have also hosted events to advocate for the forest, including a showing of a 'Save the Briar East Woods' documentary at Purdue University Northwest on Feb. 25. 'The mayor has refused to work with us, and the city council has refused to get a group meeting with us,' said TJ Gaertig, Hammond resident and organizer working to save Briar East Woods. '(Council members) have met with me personally, one-on-one, but it ended up not changing anything because they still voted in favor of Governors Parkway.' In 2023, a ProPublica article found that Hammond children would climb over or under stopped trains to get to school. Residents have criticized that the project doesn't prioritize pedestrian access, according to Post-Tribune archives. In April 2018, Hammond was awarded $6.7 million from the Indiana Department of Transportation for the proposed $14 million project, which has not yet started. Anne Sedlacek, a member of Save Briar East Woods, said Friday that the city lied on a grant application and said the bridge would help pedestrians. The proposed bridge is about a mile away from Grand Avenue, where pedestrians were regularly crossing trains. 'It's totally ineffective,' Sedlacek said. 'It's the most expensive option studied based on a 2023 presentation that they shared with us at the public hearing.' McDermott acknowledged in May 2023 that the project still falls short, but it 'solves 80% of the problem,' according to Post-Tribune archives. He was then looking into the possibility of building an additional pedestrian bridge tot help students. Both Gaertig and Sedlacek said their group is advocating for a bridge closer to Grand Avenue. A bridge proposed on Grand Avenue was a cheaper option, Gaertig said, but it wouldn't have included a residential development like the overpass through Briar East Woods has planned. 'Now, they're talking about supplementing Governors Parkway with an additional pedestrian bridge on Grand Avenue,' Gaertig said. 'We know there's a better route. They can take on Grand Avenue — that's what we want them to do. We know there's a solution, and they can take it.' Construction was supposed to start this spring, Sedlacek said, but it is still awaiting approval from the Federal Highway Administration, so she doesn't think it can start soon. Sedlacek believes it's encouraging that the project still hasn't received approval, but she still doesn't know if resident concerns are being heard. 'That could be a good sign, but there's been zero transparency,' Sedlacek said. 'Yes, it's encouraging, of course, that it's on pause, but I don't know what they're going to decide.' Despite some resident concerns, McDermott has continued to publicly express support for the project. 'I'm not sure what else I can say that I haven't already said publicly dozens of times over the last eight years,' said a Friday text from McDermott. 'That is how long we've been planning this bridge, and we finally lined up our state and federal partners who are going to finance its construction.' The city has 'held numerous public meetings,' sent two surveys and had a municipal election during the process, McDermott said, and a majority of Hammond residents support the bridge. At a Feb. 10 meeting, the Hammond City Council passed a resolution sponsored by McDermott in support of the overpass project. The resolution said a survey with 600 responses found that 75% of respondents were somewhat or strongly in favor of the overpass. Hammond resident Ken Rosek, who also founded Hessville Dune Dusters, said the survey was 'extremely manipulative' and didn't center on public safety hazards. He also claimed the survey only had about a 10% response rate. 'They asked silly questions in the beginning like, 'Well, we have this huge train population, so how would you like the city and the government to solve the problem?'' Rosek said. 'Of course, 75% said yes. They took figures in those misleading questions and found a way to make it seem like Governors Parkway bridge had 75% support.' McDermott said at the council meeting that the public has been approached numerous times, and the resolution is 'a final check to make sure we're all on the same page.' The Feb. 10 council meeting is available to view on YouTube. Gaertig said about 100 Briar East Woods supporters were barred from entering the meeting because the room was filled to capacity with city employees and others, meaning no one from the general public could enter. 'If you are telling me to say no, I think it's a humongous mistake,' McDermott told the council at the meeting. 'I think generations will laugh at this body if we say this is a bad idea.' Construction will result in the relocation of 300 trees, McDermott said, but the city has agreed to replant two trees for every tree that is eliminated. McDermott claims concerned residents and advocates are the loud minority against the proposal. He's spoken against them at public meetings and on his podcast, 'Left of Center.' 'A group of some Hammond residents, but mostly out-of-towners, keeps following me around from meeting to meeting, following the city council around from meeting to meeting, trying to pressure us to turn down the 100% fully funded bridge,' McDermott said in the Feb. 11 episode of his podcast. In the Feb. 4 episode, McDermott said he will listen to protests, but he is 'still going to do this bridge.' McDermott has also been critical of Rosek, who had said at a previous Hammond meeting that McDermott had threatened violence against him on the podcast. In the Feb. 4 episode, the mayor called Rosek a liar and said he could sue for defamation. He claimed the statement Rosek believed was about him was out of context. 'Obviously, I mean, I'm sure I was trying to be funny,' McDermott said in the Feb. 4 episode. 'I said, 'We could beat the (expletive) out of him, but that would be against the law,' and quite frankly, I don't even know if I was talking about him.' Rosek said he's helped connect residents with experts, including professors and naturalists, to explain why Briar East Woods is important for Hammond and Northwest Indiana. He's noticed residents have expressed more distaste in the project once they learned more about how it would impact Briar East Woods. Rosek has also been critical of the lack of transparency between city leadership and residents. 'There has been no transparency from the get-go,' Rosek said. 'They're not showing us the design, making claims that were untrue as far as what this was going to solve.' It's frustrating to see how McDermott has criticized local advocates, Sedlacek said, calling it an abuse of power. 'It's really unprofessional and uncouth for a public official who has been elected, who is supposed to serve their constituents, to be talking of them in such a disparaging way,' Sedlacek said. 'He's totally ignoring the intense push by the people against this project. It is out of spite, in my opinion, to pursue a project for his own personal ego benefit.' Although it's discouraging to have the city not listen to residents, Gaertig said he's not surprised. He's attended multiple public hearings and said there's been massive outcry against the project, which is why it's been delayed. 'I think a lot of residents just feel like the government doesn't actually care about what people want,' Gaertig said. Going forward, members of Save Briar East Woods plan to continue advocating and educating residents, Sedlacek said. The group will continue showing screenings of the documentary and tabling events to have their presence known. They also plan to survey Hessville and Hammond residents to see if responses are different from McDermott's findings. 'People deserve to have a dune woodland, to have a green space they can enjoy for leisure, for quality of life, but also for air quality and noise pollution absorption,' Sedlacek said. 'It's just the right thing to do. On the environmental side, it's extremely valuable, and it's a historical ecosystem. There's so much wildlife that lives there — there's so many reasons to save the woods.'
