* Background is here if you need it. Shortly after this City of Chicago press release went out, the governor’s office confirmed that it had paused construction over the weekend at the Brighton Park migrant tent camp, pending a review by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. From the city…
As reported last week, the City of Chicago’s Department of Assets, Information, and Services contracted Terracon Consultants, Inc. to conduct an environmental investigation at the 3710 South California Avenue site. The sample results were compared to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s remediation standards for residential use. According to the report, soil with mercury levels was identified at one location and was removed and properly disposed offsite at a landfill, and with the limited soil removal and placement and maintenance of the barrier, the site is safe for temporary residential use.
Further base camp construction and remediation of an additional 1 ft. x 1 ft. x 1 ft. area of the 9.5-acre site will continue per the timeline set by the State of Illinois. There is no construction or remediation scheduled at this time. The City will share assessment of subsequent remediation as it becomes available.
The full Environmental and Investigation and Correction Action Summary Report can be found in the general City of Chicago FAQ on the new arrival mission.
*** UPDATE *** The construction pause will continue tomorrow “as IEPA continues their review,” the governor’s office says.
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* I mean, if it wasn’t obvious on Friday night when the Johnson administration handed the Brighton Park environmental report to reporters before they gave it to the governor’s office, then I’m not sure where you’ve been…
Mayor Brandon Johnson campaigned on a promise to be the likable consensus-builder that Lori Lightfoot wasn’t.
He touted lessons learned as one of 10 siblings in a home with one bathroom, along with his previous work as a paid organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union. Listening, negotiating and collaborating is part of his DNA.
And yet, Johnson’s relationship with Gov. J.B. Pritzker is off to a rocky start not all that different from the tension between Lightfoot and Pritzker that worsened during the pandemic and became a hallmark of her single term.
The full story by Fran Spielman and Tina Sfondeles is definitely worth a read. I learned some things. The end graf is brutal…
“The governor has spent a lot of time, effort and money on national politics … The folks in the Pritzker administration don’t want to be embarrassed by a city that doesn’t really seem to have a plan,” Giangreco said. “All [Johnson] seems to say is, ‘I need Washington or Springfield to fix this for me.’”
That last sentence in particular is a sharp insight.
Some Chicago mayors have at times considered themselves more important than the state’s governors, and some actually were. But instead of consolidating support after the election, this mayor has allowed circumstances to alienate much of the city, including at least parts of his progressive base. Pritzker, on the other hand, has consolidated power with the two legislative leaders, taken control of the state party, has a net worth in the billions and is undoubtedly far more popular in Chicago than the mayor. There’s just not much Johnson can do to him at this point which won’t badly backfire.
Whatever the case, the fighting isn’t good in the long term, so this really needs to end soon.
*** UPDATE *** Gov. Pritzker was asked about this today…
We have a good relationship with one another. And I know the media would like to, every time there’s a governor and a mayor of Chicago, when you occasionally have things you’re working out together. They want to turn it into ‘They hate each other.’
Now there have been mayors and governors in the past that don’t like each other. But the truth is that we get along an we have a lot to accomplish. Chicago is an important economic driver for the country, not to mention for the state of Illinois. And I’ve really made it my mission - I’ve had now three mayors that I’ve worked with - I’ve made it my mission to make sure that the relationship is good. Even when you disagree occasionally on something, you just need to work it out. And whenever we have disagreed, we have worked it out. So I feel really good about the relationship and about the future working together. We do share one overriding concern together and that’s lifting up the working people of our state, making sure that people are doing well, that families are thriving, making the investments that are necessary for that. S that’s a great common ground to work from.
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* From WBBM…
* From Jordan Abudayyeh at the Governor’s office…
The State has repeatedly requested this report from the city and despite assurances it would be sent, that has yet to occur. When the State does receive the report the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will need to review it. We will not have additional comment until we receive the report.
* Alice Yin…
* Abudayyeh at 8:33 tonight…
Update. We just got it: The state just received the environmental report. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will need to review it. We will not have additional comment until the review of the nearly 800 page document is complete.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From Natalie Moore at WBEZ…
*** UPDATE 2 *** Click here for the full report…
* Metals were below the residential ROs with the exception of arsenic, lead, mercury, and manganese, which exceeded in residential ingestion exposure route at certain sample locations.
* Mercury exceeded the residential outdoor inhalation exposure route and the default CSAT limit in sample SB-15 (1-3’) and its associated duplicate sample, DUP-004. These two samples were further evaluated with elemental mercury laboratory analysis, as provided in Table 1, which confirmed the exceedances.
*** UPDATE 3 *** From Rich: The governor’s office has been asking for this report for days, and they sent it to reporters first? Yeah, that’s wise…
*** UPDATE 4 *** Coverage roundup…
* Tribune…
After weeks of pressure, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration dropped a voluminous environmental assessment of a proposed tent camp for migrants late Friday that said contaminants are being removed from the former Southwest Side industrial site.
The nearly 800-page report by outside contractor Terracon Consultants was released to the Tribune on Friday evening.
It said high levels of mercury and other chemicals were found and are being removed from the Brighton Park lot at 3710 S. California Ave., where workers had already begun building the giant tents for incoming migrants this week. […]
“Terracon conducted a field investigation under a sampling plan that was developed for this specific site,” a Johnson spokesperson wrote in a statement, before noting soil with mercury levels and other contaminants, which were addressed through removal as well as an “engineered barrier” along the site. “With the limited soil removal and placement and maintenance of the barrier, the site is safe for temporary residential use.”
The report notes that despite the presence of toxic substances at the site, the levels detected are within state guidelines and as a result pose minimal risks to temporary occupants of the tent encampment.
* WTTW…
Tests were performed in 16 locations on the site, and soil, groundwater and soil gas samples were taken and analyzed, according to the report.
Mercury was located in one location on the site, and the soil in that area was removed and disposed of, according to the report.
In another location, the organic compound bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate was found, the report said. That compound is used in the manufacturing of polyvinyl chloride, a rigid yet flexible plastic. That soil will also be removed and disposed of, according to the report.
At multiple locations on the site, the tests found evidence of two semi-volatile organic compounds and four metals that exceeded limits considered safe for residential use, according to the report.
That prompted city officials to require that the entire site “be covered with imported clean stone from a quarry and compaction of the stone to a minimum thickness of six inches throughout the site. The stone layer will be periodically inspected and maintained,” the report said.
* ABC Chicago…
Crews are also placing a clean crushed stone barrier around the site that will be regularly inspected.
The statement goes on to say in part, “With the limited soil removal and placement and maintenance of the barrier, the site is safe for temporary residential use.” […]
City officials have said they hope to have the site up and running by mid-December.
Alderwoman Julia Ramirez and her office are reviewing the new findings and plan to comment soon.
* Sun-Times…
The state, which is committing $65 million for the shelter and is directing the contractor building on the site, will have to sign off on the environmental report.
“The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will have to review it,” said Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokeswoman for Gov. J.B. Pritzker. “We will not utilize that site if IEPA does not sign off.”
She declined to comment further until state officials review the report.
The city’s consultant said it can’t guarantee there isn’t additional contamination, and if additional materials are discovered, “activities should be halted.”
“We cannot represent that the site contains no hazardous substances, toxic material, petroleum products or other latent conditions beyond those identified during this evaluation,” the city consultant Terracon said in the report.
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* Yesterday…
Migrant Camp Sight Target of Iron Workers Picket;
Construction Shutdown Likely
What:
On Thursday, November 30, Iron Workers Local 1 Union filed a notice of intention to picket the Brighton Park migrant camp site on Friday, December 1, which is currently under construction, due to the contractor’s failure to hire certified union ironworkers. The Iron Workers Local 1 Union’s picket line will likely be honored by other union workers, if any, on the site, causing them to lay down their tools and leading to a construction shutdown.
Who:
· Ken Davis, Business Agent, Iron Workers Local 1 Union
· John Gardiner, President, Iron Workers Local 1 Union
· Rank and file Iron Workers from Local 1 Union
· Scabby The Rat
Where:
Brighton Park, 2822 W. 38th Street, Chicago (corner of 38th and California)
When:
Friday, December 1, 2023; 6 a.m. – 2p.m.
Trade union members almost never cross a picket line, and there are plenty of other unions on that site. A picket would have likely shut the whole thing down.
* Today…
The following statement can be attributed to John Gardiner, President/Business Manager, Iron Workers Union Local 1:
“On Thursday, November 30, Iron Workers Union Local 1 filed a notice of intention to picket the Brighton Park migrant camp site on Friday, December 1, which is currently under construction, due to the contractor’s failure to hire certified union ironworkers. After receiving a call from the governor’s office last night, Thursday, the Iron Workers Local 1 agreed to a 24-hour pause on our picket to allow for negotiations. We paused our picket for 24-hours out of courtesy to the governor’s office. We met virtually this morning with multiple, high-level officials, and will continue to talk throughout the day.”
Apparently, nobody told the governor’s office in advance about the impending labor action until I sent them the union’s press release last night asking for comment.
…Adding… The mayor’s office has reached out to say they had “Multiple conversations on Thursday” with the governor’s office.
[Both releases had a date typo, so I was asked to update the post.]
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Today’s quotable
Friday, Dec 1, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Former Kenwood Oakland Community Organization organizer, Chicago Democratic Socialist Caucus member and second-term Chicago Ald. Jeanette Taylor was on Ben Joravsky’s show…
Joravsky: As you said, we’ve got some work to do in the movement.
Taylor: Absolutely.
Joravsky: What do you mean by that?
Taylor: A) we should not be on the Fifth Floor. And I’m speaking my whole heart. I feel like, and I’ve said this to them, and so whoever get the backlash, come on with it because I’m ready for it.
We were not ready because we haven’t been in government long enough to know how government really runs. You still got Rahm’s, you still got Daddy Daley’s people still in these committees, still in these departments. And so we got some uprooting to do.
But we just weren’t, I felt like we’re not ready and it’s showing out in the wash. I don’t gotta say it, people see it.
And we stopped doing the most important thing that movements do, and that means organize. Ain’t no way we’re on the Fifth Floor and we’re having all these issues and now they’re talking about he’s going to be a one-term mayor. Because we ain’t doing the thing that the movement does best, and that’s to organize our people and get people to see the entire picture, not the part of the picture or not a part of a conversation that they came in on.
Half of the people that are hollering at us that come to City Hall are not things that City Hall can fix. They are things that City Hall initiated, but they are not things that City Hall can fix. Why not take those people to the side and say, Hey, how do we help you? How do we do this? Well, we won’t do that.
We’re pretending like now we got the power let us show you how it’s supposed to be done. And we look real stupid right now.
The full show is here.
…Adding… I wrote this in comments, then decided to front-page it…
===Practitioners of “movement” politics are intellectually wired to operate as disrupters — or as an opposition party. Being in charge is not part of what they do.===
While mostly true, the alderperson’s comments are spot on.
The Brighton Park fiasco is a great case in point. They could’ve had people canvassing that neighborhood to calm folks down and counter the misinformation. The CTU has plenty of front groups and allies that could be dispatched.
Also, Johnson’s father is a pastor. He’s tapped in to a huge church network. Why did it take the mayor so long to talk to churches about taking in asylum-seekers? Why didn’t he bring pastors in and urge them to calm down their parishioners with facts instead of inciting fear and hate?
I could go on, but why bother?
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