Opinion

Demand officials act on emissions

Posted June 28, 2021 1:00 am

It is interesting to see the stark difference between two communities in Illinois (Willowbrook and Lake County) that have the same ethylene oxide (EtO) problem, a cancer causing pollutant.

Willowbrook's affluent community was enraged. The county and mayor supported the shutdown of their one facility. Lake County is an environmental justice community with two emitters and governing bodies there did nothing.

Gov. Pritzker shut down Sterigenics February 2019 and did not do the same for Lake County.

The DuPage County board sent letters to the USEPA, IL legislatures, called on state officials to shut Sterigenics down and also created a resolution against Sterigenics. The Lake County board did none of this.

Willowbrook's mayor wrote a letter to Sterigenics about health concerns in 2018, worked with activists and wrote a letter to Pritzker regarding Sterigenics. Waukegan and Gurnee mayors did not write to Medline and Vantage, nor Pritzker, about this pollution.

Please call or email your mayor, trustees and aldermen and demand they protect you and your family from EtO emissions.

Annette Darden

Waukegan

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