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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING LITTLE VILLAGE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATION (LVEJO) ON THEIR 30TH ANNIVERSARY
WHEREAS, the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) was founded in 1994 by public school parents who learned about the potential exposure of their children to dangerous particles during school renovations at Joseph E. Gary Elementary; and
WHEREAS, under the leadership of the organization’s first Executive Director, Victor Ceballos, LVEJO worked with neighborhood youth on local campaigns against polluting factories; and
WHEREAS, in 2005, LVEJO’s community organizer Kim Wasserman-Nieto became the Executive Director, a position she would hold for eight years; and
WHEREAS, LVEJO conducted important surveys and maps of the neighborhood to understand the environmental problems that the community needed to address; and
WHEREAS, through this grassroots process, LVEJO identified the Crawford Coal Power Plant, Celotex, and the 31st CTA bus line as important environmental justice struggles; and
WHEREAS, LVEJO’s organizers waged tireless grassroots campaigns to close down the Crawford and Fisk coal power plants, remediate and convert the Celotex site into a new public park, and permanently re-establish the 31st bus route in the neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, led by LVEJO and the Pilsen Environmental Rights & Reform Organization (PERRO), another environmental justice group in Pilsen, the Clean Power Coalition successfully retired the Crawford and Fisk plants in 2012; and
WHEREAS, this community victory represented a resounding example of community power and the necessity of community organizing; and
WHEREAS, for her exemplary leadership and commitment, Kim Wasserman-Nieto was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in April of 2013; and
WHEREAS, in 2013, LVEJO also won the Celotex superfund campaign and worked with the Chicago Park District to design the first public park to be built in Little Village in 75 years, the new park will be named La Villita Park and will address the great need for open space in the community
WHEREAS, in October of 2013, LVEJO’s long-standing campaign to re-establish the 31st bus route was also completed, ensuring that the neighborhood has adequate transit access for the first time in years; and
WHEREAS, the mission of LVEJO is to organize with the community to accomplish environmental justice in Little Village and achieve the self-determination of immigrant, low-income, and working-class families; and
WHEREAS, LVEJOs vision is to build a sustainable community that promotes the healthy development of youth and families, provides economic justice, and practices participatory democracy and self-determination; and
WHEREAS, after years of working for environmental justice in Little Village, LVEJO continues to organize for a healthier community in Little Village and beyond; and
WHEREAS, building upon the successful clean power, public transit, and open space campaigns LVEJO remains committed to organizing with those most impacted by industrialization and climate change.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Cook County Board President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners do hereby congratulate the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) on their 30th anniversary; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, this text be spread upon the proceedings of this Honorable Body and that a suitable copy of this resolution is presented to the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) for their outstanding achievements and work to the community.
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