For Immediate Release 

What: Media Alert about the victory on the General Iron permit 

When: May 10th 

Who: The Caucus of Rank and File Educators.  www.coreteachers.org 

 The Caucus of Rank and File Educators congratulates the environmental justice movement that stopped the metal shredder, General Iron, from adding to the already excessive pollution on the Southeast side of Chicago. The hard fought battle was won due to the heroic efforts of students and teachers at Washington High School and the entire Southeast Side who had to go to the extreme of waging a month-long hunger-strike to have their voices heard. 

 The herculean efforts of the coalition led President Biden’s new administrator for the EPA, Michael Regan, to pressure Mayor Lightfoot Friday to halt the permit for this notorious polluter. He stated that the pollution on the Southeast Side “epitomize[s] the problem of environmental injustice” and Mayor Lightfoot finally listened, suspending permits for the metal shredder indefinitely, pending a study of health impacts on the community. 

 CORE members helped lead the fight for environmental justice and illuminate the disproportionate harm faced by the Black and Latinx communities in and around the city from so many corporate polluters. According to CORE member and teacher Lauren Bianchi “this has been a righteous fight but one that only has just begun. We will not rest until all our schools, students and their families have a healthy and green alternative to these polluters, including free solar panels, updated school HVAC systems, clean air, removal of lead pipes, and the medical care too many low income families lack. Our students are demanding that the schools and city use the more than $3 billion in Rescue Act funds from President Biden to address these historic disparities and listen to the people.”