Please join us for a toxic tour of Altgeld Gardens, led by People for Community Recovery. We'll meet in front of the Reflecting Pool at the Law School at 12:30pm, then depart together. Students will be dropped back off at the Law School by 4pm.

Event Description: Altgeld Gardens (Chicago's "Toxic Donut") is an environmental justice community (a predominantly black community surrounded by 50 landfills and 382 industrial facilities). People for Community Recovery (PCR) will lead the toxic tour, which will explore sites within and around Altgeld Gardens. The tours are intended to increase awareness of the multiple sources of toxics found in environmental justice communities as well as the efforts of local community-based organizations in combatting these sources of pollution.

Background on PCR & Environmental Justice: Hazel Johnson founded PCR in 1979 to advocate for environmental and tenant rights. Johnson advocated for President Clinton to sign the first XO on environmental justice, and she organized to fight industrial pollution, remove lead pipes and asbestos, get companies to clean up old sites, and educate community members.  Her advocacy was “one of the first to bring attention to the fact that environmental hazards had long been intentionally concentrated in low-income communities and communities of color.” Johnson has become known as the “mother of environmental justice.”  Today, PCR continues to fight for environmental justice, and they’re a testament to the power of community organizing.