IN ORDER: PEGGY SALAZAR RECENTLY STEPPED DOWN AS THE DIRECTOR OF THE SOUTHEAST ENVIRONMENTAL TASK FORCE AFTER TEN YEARS OF SERVICE. VANESSA SCHWARTZ IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF METROPOLITAN FAMILY SERVICES ON THE SOUTHEAST SIDE. AMALIA NIETOGOMEZ IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ALLIANCE OF THE SOUTHEAST. (BRIDGET VAUGHN/CITY BUREAU)
Southeast Side Change Agents City Bureau talks to three organizers on the Southeast Side. BY BRIDGET VAUGHN, CITY BUREAU
When U.S. Steel South Works shuttered its doors in 1992, the Southeast Side was still a thriving community. Steel mill workers were paid enough to buy homes, send their children to college, and take vacations. Yet, the community’s place as a former industrial hub has also made it environmentally overburdened, and in addition to a lack of jobs, residents also face the result of generations of exposure to high levels of pollutants. Peggy Salazar, Vanessa Schwartz, and Amalia NietoGomez know and understand these challenges. Their work, collectively and separately, addresses these needs. City Bureau fellow Bridget Vaughn interviewed them about the pollution the steel mills left behind, today’s environmental activism, and the most recent hurdle in a grassroots effort to stop a major company, General Iron, from moving a scrap metal plant to the area. The interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Peggy Salazar Peggy Salazar recently retired after ten years as the director of the Southeast Environmental Task Force (SETF). 14 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY
Before she was the director, Salazar served on the SETF Board for five years, a position she was recruited to after dedicating her time as a volunteer. She grew up across the street from the U.S. Steel plant, and her husband worked there for thirteen years. How did you get involved with the Southeast Environmental Task Force? I was always engaged in my community. Through that engagement, I would occasionally rub shoulders with the task force. One year, I was asked to become a volunteer or to be on the task force board. I said I’ve never been a board member. I’ll volunteer for a while and see how it goes. And before I knew it, I was a board member for five years and the director for ten years. I am not young. Presidents have term limits. I actually needed to have term limits too. It’s a good thing to bring in new people. What impact has Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot had on environmental justice on the Southeast Side? I had high hopes for her, but she inherited
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a lot of crap. You assume that she’s willing to take on whatever comes her way. It just seems to me, like right now she’s overwhelmed. She did disappoint me. She came down here after she was elected. She held a meeting right here at the local high school. It was supposed to be about the budget, but then the floor opened for questions. Someone brought up the issue of General Iron moving to the Southeast Side. Mayor Lightfoot responded by informing the audience that General Iron was not moving to “your” neighborhood, only the assets are now. I was disappointed in her. But, I also understand the position she was in because the developers on the North Side were on her big time. So, once again, did you not know you were walking into this? I don’t think she did. She didn’t pay attention to our community being as active as it was. We had just gotten out of the coal gasification fight. We’ve just gotten out of the Petcoke fight. Maybe she thought we were worn down. But we weren’t going to give up. What three things do you want people to know about the task force and you?
First, the task force is always going to be evolving to meet the needs of the community. What the task force does may be local in most cases, but those local changes have broader impacts. Second, the task force, even if we made mistakes, we always thought we were doing the right thing. So even when we make mistakes, it’s not because we intentionally did something, it’s because we thought it was the right thing to do. I think that’s how the task force will always operate. Third, I’m hoping we will be able to continue to engage the community and slowly build the people's power. Keeping the community engaged and building on what you have. I’m also hoping to bring in some of the other neighborhoods like Jeffrey Manor.
Vanessa Schwartz Vanessa Schwartz was born and raised in a working-class community on the Southeast Side. Her mother had a beauty shop and her dad worked for a steel manufacturer of retail items. Her grandmother was a nurse’s aide at LaRabida Hospital.
