"I've always personally been interested in the environment," Rachel Schwartz, an attorney at the Conservation Law Center, told The Times. "But what I've wanted to do in my career is support access to justice for people who have been in some way excluded or disadvantaged in our justice system. And I think in Northwest Indiana, there's a way that I can bring those two interests together."

The Bloomington-based nonprofit that she works for provides free legal services to advocacy groups and individual community members with environmental concerns.

Schwartz graduated from the University of Chicago law and public policy dual degree program in the spring and joined CLC through a University of Chicago Law School Public Service Fellowship.

The organization's Northwest Indiana operation, which focuses on Gary, East Chicago, Hammond and Whiting, had previously been a one-man enterprise run by veteran attorney Michael Zoeller. Having Schwartz on board, Zoeller told The Times, has been a major step up for CLC's capabilities in the Region.

Since joining CLC early last year, Zoeller has tackled a variety of local environmental issues. He is currently representing the activist and Gary resident Gary Lee in a lawsuit against the Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission.

Lee sued the commission in August 2025, alleging, among other claims, that the body's then-ongoing lease agreement with Merrillville-based Maya Energy violated the commission's statutory-defined purpose. The company planned to build a waste-to-feedstock processing facility on a plot of commission-owned land on 35th Avenue in Gary.

Lee also claimed that the commission had violated Indiana's Open Door Law by discussing improper topics in closed executive sessions and that two of its members were legally ineligible for their seats.

Read more at The Times of Northwest Indiana (paywall)