Skip to main content
Category

Environment and Health

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Trump Administration to Dismiss Environmental Racism, Housing Discrimination Cases in Chicago Convert all to Labor and EconomicsEnvironment and HealthCONVERT to Environment and HealthImmigration PolicyOrganizingTrending

Trump Administration to Dismiss Environmental Racism, Housing Discrimination Cases in Chicago

The feds had ruled that City Hall violated residents’ civil rights in a case involving the relocation of the General Iron scrap metal operator and a complaint over affordable rental units.
July 25, 2025
Max Herman/Borderless Magazine
Environmental Advocates Rally in Support of New Ordinance to Change Zoning and Address Pollution Environment and HealthTrending

Environmental Advocates Rally in Support of New Ordinance to Change Zoning and Address Pollution

An ordinance introduced in City Council on Wednesday would address zoning and land use policies the federal government found to be environmentally discriminatory toward communities of color in the South and West Sides.
April 17, 2025
Max Herman/Borderless Magazine
Chicago Department of Public Health Faces Capacity Hurdles With Environmental Inspections Environment and HealthCONVERT to Environment and HealthTrending

Chicago Department of Public Health Faces Capacity Hurdles With Environmental Inspections

Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige said the department faced hurdles in its environmental efforts, including limited capacity to carry out more inspections at a hearing before the City Council Committee on Environmental Protections and Energy.
April 2, 2025
Oscar Gomez/Borderless Magazine
Chicago Department of Public Health Set to Defend Environmental Justice Efforts at Committee Hearing Environment and HealthCONVERT to Environment and HealthTrending

Chicago Department of Public Health Set to Defend Environmental Justice Efforts at Committee Hearing

The hearing comes as environmental justice advocates grow impatient with the city's unfulfilled promises to install 140 air pollution sensors and pass a cumulative impacts ordinance to protect communities overburdened by pollution.
March 27, 2025
Saleha Soadat for Borderless Magazine
Borderless Magazine’s Favorite Stories of 2024 Arts & CultureBroken-Winged Birds: Afghans in Exile -- CONVERT TO AS-TOLD-TOEnvironment and HealthEspañolCONVERT to Environment and HealthImmigration PolicyInvestigationLabor and EconomicsPopularVisuals

Borderless Magazine’s Favorite Stories of 2024

An Afghan refugee seeking his pilot license, backlog and attorney shortages in immigration court, Latino residents pushing for more green space on the Southwest Side and more stories Borderless reported on Chicago’s immigrant communities.
December 23, 2024
Efrain Soriano for Borderless Magazine
City Contractor ‘Failed’ Clients as Migrant Shelter Complaints Mounted, Staffers Say Environment and HealthCONVERT to Environment and HealthInvestigationLabor and EconomicsVisuals

City Contractor ‘Failed’ Clients as Migrant Shelter Complaints Mounted, Staffers Say

Chicago is phasing out Favorite Healthcare Staffing after paying the agency $342 million to oversee its shelter system. Records show that Favorite had a poor track record of resolving complaints.
November 19, 2024
Photo illustration by Max Herman/Borderless Magazine. Source photos by: Guille Briceno/imageSPACE/MediaPunch/Alamy, Bonnie Cash/Pool via CNP/MediaPunch/Alamy, and Todd Bannor/Alamy Stock Photo
What a Trump Vs. Harris Win Could Mean for Environmental Justice in Chicago? Environment and Health

What a Trump Vs. Harris Win Could Mean for Environmental Justice in Chicago?

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris differ on many policy points, but environmental justice and climate change are among the most stark.
October 28, 2024
Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
How Chicago’s Environmental Committee Chair Works Toward a ‘Sustainable’ City Environment and HealthCONVERT to Environment and Health

How Chicago’s Environmental Committee Chair Works Toward a ‘Sustainable’ City

Since being appointed to chair the city’s Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy, Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) has been working to educate lawmakers on a stalled decarbonization bill and bolster the reinstated Department of the Environment.
September 9, 2024
Max Herman/Borderless Magazine
City Officials Attempt to Allay Residents’ Fears as Partial Demolition Looms in Pilsen Environment and HealthCONVERT to Environment and HealthTrending

City Officials Attempt to Allay Residents’ Fears as Partial Demolition Looms in Pilsen

As Midwest Generation Fisk Station owners move to remove a cracked and leaning silo at the site, residents called for high-quality air monitors and more communication from the city about the demolition process.
August 8, 2024
Jesus J. Montero of the Cicero Independiente
What Cicero and Stickney Residents Need to Know About the Koppers Coal Tar Plant Environment and HealthCONVERT to Environment and Health

What Cicero and Stickney Residents Need to Know About the Koppers Coal Tar Plant

Over the past decade, the Koppers coal tar plant, situated on the border of the town of Cicero and the village of Stickney, has been flagged for more than 50 violations of state environmental laws.
, , and February 13, 2024
Jesus J. Montero of the Cicero Independiente
Koppers disputes most recent environmental violations but plant records reveal two decades of run-ins with Illinois EPA Environment and HealthCONVERT to Environment and HealthInvestigation

Koppers disputes most recent environmental violations but plant records reveal two decades of run-ins with Illinois EPA

After the Illinois EPA sent them a lengthy violations notice last fall, Koppers executives began selling stock at an unprecedented rate. After MuckRock and the Cicero Independiente reported on those violations, the publicly-traded company hired a crisis communications firm to meet with elected officials and manage the community fallout.
, , and February 13, 2024
Mauricio Peña/Borderless Magazine
Investigation: Migrants Describe Inhumane Conditions at Chicago’s Largest Shelter Environment and HealthCONVERT to Environment and HealthImmigration PolicyInvestigation

Investigation: Migrants Describe Inhumane Conditions at Chicago’s Largest Shelter

Just days after Illinois Gov. Pritzker shut down a proposed shelter due to health concerns, Venezuelan migrants living in the Pilsen shelter say they are being treated “like dogs.’’
, and December 14, 2023
Photo courtesy of Center for Neighborhood Technology, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Inundation and Injustice: Flooding presents a formidable threat to the Great Lakes region Environment and HealthCONVERT to Environment and Health

Inundation and Injustice: Flooding presents a formidable threat to the Great Lakes region

Throughout the Great Lakes region, archaic wastewater systems, crumbling infrastructure and segregated housing create a perfect storm of flooding vulnerability.
August 3, 2023
Sandra and Jesse Arzola in front of Sandra's family’s house in West ChicagoJonathan Aguilar/Borderless Magazine
West Chicago is Cleaning Up the Last of its Nuclear Contamination. Residents Exposed to Radiation Say ‘It’s Not Over’ Environment and HealthInvestigationPopularTrending

West Chicago is Cleaning Up the Last of its Nuclear Contamination. Residents Exposed to Radiation Say ‘It’s Not Over’

A local factory was once the largest producer of thorium in the world. This fall, the “radioactive capital of the Midwest” is doing one last cleanup.
July 12, 2022