Rising Star

by David Garrow

  The contemporaneous journalism is “Calumet Area House Project to Open Soon,” CT, 6 August 1944, p. S1; “Altgeld Gardens Housing Dedicated Before 5,000,” CT, 27 August 1945, p. 13; Albert G. Barnett, “Chicago Negroes Fight Housing Shortage,” CD, 7 June 1947, p. 13; “Cover Drainage Ditch, Altgeld Residents Ask,” CT, 12 August 1951, p. S1; Gladys Priddy, “Figures Tell Tale of Change in Riverdale,” CT, 3 April 1955, p. S4; Frank Starr, “Poverty ‘Inner Ring’ Grips South Side,” CT, 13 August 1964, p. 1; Gail Stockholm, “Hearings Continue on Altgeld Gardens Bus Fare Increase,” CT, 14 March 1968, p. 3A; “Altgeld Obtains New Health Facility,” Greater Roseland Newsletter, Fall 1970, p. 5, CHM; Donald Yabush, “Embattled Church Will Be 25,” CT, 20 August 1972, p. S5; Constance Lauerman, “Altgeld Gardens Wins Dope Fight, Faces Bigger One,” CT, 19 November 1982, p. S7; James Jackson, “Altgeld Dreams Reverting to Nightmares,” CT, 22 March 1973, p. S1.

  Regarding Altgeld, also see Judy Freeman, “Where Have All the Toxins Gone?,” TNW, June 1985, pp. 1, 6–9; Craig E. Colten, “Industrial Wastes in Southeast Chicago: Production and Disposal 1870–1970,” Environmental Review 10 (Summer 1986): 93–105; Colten, “Chicago’s Waste Lands: Disposal and Urban Growth, 1840–1990,” Journal of Historical Geography 20 (April 1994): 124–42; Don Coursey et al., “Environmental Racism in the City of Chicago: The History of EPA Hazardous Waste Sites in African-American Neighborhoods” (Harris School Working Paper, University of Chicago, October 1994); and David N. Pellow, Garbage Wars: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Chicago (MIT Press, 2002).

  33. Emmett George and Dave Schneiderman, “Thousands Flee Acid Fumes,” CT, 27 April 1974, p. 1; George and Joseph Sjostrom, “‘Man, This Stuff Is Poison; The People Are All Scared,’” CT, 27 April 1974, p. W1; Dave Schneiderman and Jack Fuller, “Workers Draining Acid Tank; Vapors Gone,” CT, 28 April 1974, p. 1; Jon Van, “Gas Victims Help Each Other; Kept in Dark, They Assert,” CT, 28 April 1974, p. 2; “250 Altgeld Residents Meet,” CT, 3 May 1974, p. 7; Frank Zahour, “Fume Victims Still Feeling Symptoms,” CT, 5 May 1974, p. 22; John O’Brien, “Acid Leak Starts in Confusion, Ends in Probe,” CT, 6 May 1974, p. 3; Casey Bukro, “Acid Leak: Could It Reoccur?,” CT, 26 May 1984, p. 31; Melaniphy & Associates, CCNNA, Volume II: Riverdale Community Area, 1982, esp. pp. 17, 25, 30; Michael Arndt, “Mom’s Dream: Moving 2 Sons from Gang Terror,” CT, 13 December 1982, p. A19; Monroe Anderson & Casey Bukro, “An Air of Mystery at Carver,” CT, 23 January 1983, p. 4; DJG interviews with Dan Lee, Salim al-Nurridin, and Alma Jones.

  Sharon Pines, “Public Housing Residents Fight for Their Health,” TNW, March 1985, pp. 14–17; Hazel Johnson to Jackie Schad, 6 June 1986, CRF Box 30 Fld. 368; Deborah Nelson, “‘Hotspot’ Air Smells, Kills,” CST, 3 June 1987, p. 10; Virginia Mullery, “Hazel Johnson,” Salt, July–August 1988, pp. 4–6; and DJG’s interviews with Hazel Johnson, Cheryl Johnson, Martha Kindred, and Bob Ginsburg most inform this brief sketch of PCR, whose surviving records are now part of the Harsh Collection at the Chicago Public Library’s very rich 95th Street branch. The April 1984 draft report and the ensuing stories were Illinois EPA, “The Southeast Chicago Study: An Assessment of Environmental Pollution amd Public Health Impacts,” HWP DS Box 5 Fld. 8; Harlan Dragor, “Far S. Side Pollution No Threat, Says Study,” CST, 25 April 1984, p. 12; Casey Bukro, “S. Side’s High Cancer Rate Cited,” CT, 25 April 1984, p. D1; and Bukro, “Study Finds Cancer High, Downplays Risk,” CT, 26 April 1984, p. D14. Also see Robert Ginsburg, “Multiple Exposure—A New Approach to Pollution Control,” CBE Environmental Review, Winter 1984, pp. 3–4, 15.

  Other accounts discussing Johnson’s work include Michael H. Brown, The Toxic Cloud (Harper & Row, 1987), pp. 65–92; Jim Ritter, “A Nose for Woes on S. E. Side,” CST, 22 April 1990, p. 1; John Elson, “Dumping on the Poor,” Time, 13 August 1990, p. 46; Leslie Ansley, “Homesick—From the Fumes,” USA Weekend, 17–19 April 1991, pp. 17, 19; Linc Cohen, “Waste Dumps Toxic Traps for Minorities,” Chicago Reporter, April 1992; Josh Getlin’s excellent “Fighting Her Good Fight,” LAT, 18 February 1993; Michael Lipske, “Hazel Johnson: Protecting a Community’s Health,” National Wildlife, October–November 1993; Heather M. Little, “Toxin Shock,” CT, 15 January 1995, p. WN3; Jennifer Peltz, “Living at CHA Site Called Health Hazard,” CT, 24 October 1999, p. 1; Fuerst, When Public Housing Was Paradise, pp. 189–90; Frank Sennett, “An Urban Refusal,” TNW, October—November 1993, pp. 9–13; three obituaries: Robert D. Bullard, “Environmental Justice Movement Loses Southside Chicago Icon Hazel Johnson,” OpEdNews.com, 14 January 2011, Margaret Ramirez, “Hazel M. Johnson, 1935–2011,” CT, 16 January 2011, Mary Mitchell, “Champion of Environment a Quiet Hero,” CST, 16 January 2011; and Dawn Turner Trice, “Final Tribute Sought for Environmental Activist,” CT, 18 July 2011. An impressive account of a CHA Local Advisory Council that did represent tenants, at the Wentworth Gardens project, is Roberta M. Feldman and Susan Stall, The Dignity of Resistance: Women Residents’ Activism in Chicago Public Housing (Cambridge University Press, 2004).

  34. DJG interviews with Madeline Talbott, Keith Kelleher, Grant Williams, and Steuart Pittman; Illinois ACORN to Dear Neighbors, September 1983, and ACORN News, October 1983, both Illinois ACORN Papers [IAP] Box 3, Fld. 76; Cynthia-Val Jones, “Fear CTA Service Cut for Altgeld Gardens,” CD, 8 March 1984, p. 1; Jones, “Altgeld Claims Victory in CTA Fight,” CD, 3 April 1984, p. 3; Illinois ACORN, South Side Toxics Project Budget,” ca. August 1984, IAP Box 3, Fld. 47; “South Side United Neighbors—Transition from Grant Williams to Steuart Pittman,” 20 September 1984, IAF Box 2, Fld. 33. On ACORN’s history, see Gary Delgado, Organizing the Movement: The Roots and Growth of ACORN (Temple University Press, 1986), and particularly John Atlas, Seeds of Change: The Story of ACORN, America’s Most Controversial Antipoverty Community Organizing Group (Vanderbilt University Press, 2010), esp. pp. 48–53, 99–101. On Eden Green, see Bowly, The Poorhouse, p. 175; Melaniphy & Associates, CCNNA Analysis, Volume II: Riverdale Community Area, p. 29; Reiff, “Riverdale,” Encyclopedia of Chicago; and Rebekah Levin et al., “Community Organizing in Three South Side Chicago Communities: Leadership, Activities, and Prospects,” Center for Impact Research, September 2004, pp. 19–23.

  35. DJG interviews with Jerry Kellman, Bob Klonowski, Tom Knutson, Loretta Augustine-Herron, Len Dubi, Jan Poledziewski, and Fred Simari; Robert Bergsvik, “Jobless Group Making Comeback,” DC, 2 August 1984, p. A2; Mark Kiesling, “Thornton Township’s Share of Jobs Grant Is Still Not Decided,” DC, 3 August 1984, p. A2; Kiesling, “2 Named to Task Force,” DC, 10 August 1984, p. A1; Kiesling, “Job Retraining Classes to Be Conducted at TCC,” DC, 6 September 1984, p. A3; C. D. Matthews, “Aid for Jobless Is Available,” DC, 1 January 1985, p. A2; Naomi Schreier, “Job Retraining Program Offered,” DC, 11 January 1985, p. A2. On Father Len Dubi, also see Dolores Madlener, “The Lord’s Maverick,” Catholic New World, 17 January 2010. On what was officially called “Prairie State 2000,” see Duane E. Leigh, “Possible Alternative Uses of UI Trust Funds: A Survey of Recent State Initiatives,” Washington State Institute for Public Policy, October 1986, p. 15; Robert G. Sheets and Yuan Ting, “Determinants of Business Response to Government Tax Incentives for Privately Financed Termination Benefit Programs,” Policy Studies Review 11 (Autumn/Winter 1992): 222–40; and Paul Osterman and Rosemary Batt, “Employer-Centered Training for International Competitiveness: Lessons from State Programs,” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 12 (Summer 1993): 456–77, esp. pp. 472–73.

  36. Casey Bukro, “Southeast Siders Reject State Health Assurances,” CT, 21 September 1984, p. A4; Leslie Baldacci, “S. E. Siders Confront Public Health Officials,” CST, 21 September 1984, p. 6; Charlotte Chun to Robert Buchanan, “Wells in the 9th Ward,” 10 August 1984, HWP Community Services Box 16 Fld. 18; Press Release, “Cyanide Found in Southeast Side Water Wells,” TNW, 19 September 1984, HWP Development Box 5 Fld. 8 & Community Box 16 Fld. 18; Juanita Salvador Burris to Benjamin Reyes, “Concerns About Water in the 9th Wa
rd,” 20 September 1984, HWP Development Box 16 Fld. 31; Harlan Draeger, “Cyanide in Well Water Here,” CST, 21 September 1984, p. 6; Casey Bukro, “Fear Flows over Tainted Wells,” CT, 24 September 1984, p. II-1; Benjamin Reyes to Commissioners John Corey and Jesse Madison et al., “Contaminated Water Wells in Maryland Manor (134th Place),” 25 September 1984, HWP Development Box 5 Fld. 8; Judy Freeman, “We’ve Got da Sulfur Water Blues,” TNW, October 1984, pp. 1, 17–20; Thom Clark, “From the Editor,” TNW, October 1984, p. 2; Judy Freeman, “Residents Challenge EPA Findings,” TNW, November 1984, pp. 8–9; Pines, “Public Housing Residents Fight,” TNW, March 1985, pp. 14–17; “Percy Skips S.E. Side Meeting, Riles Crowd,” CST, 24 October 1984, p. 7; Robert Bergsvik, “Percy Absence Angers UNO,” DC, 25 October 1984, p. A3; DJG interviews with Hazel and Cheryl Johnson, Mary Gonzales, Danny Solis, Phil Mullins, and Mary Ellen Montes. See also Robert Bergsvik, “Voter Drives Head into Last Busy Weekend,” DC, 27 September 1984, p. A2.

  On Marian Byrnes, see Hank DeZutter, “War of the Wetlands,” CR, 5 February 1982, pp. 3, 30; Michael Abramowitz, “Chicago’s ‘Toxic Wasteland’ Breeds Blue-Collar Environmentalism,” WP, 8 November 1992, p. A3; Rod Sellers’s class presentation interview with Byrnes from February 2001; Arthur M. Pearson, “Marian Byrnes: Conscience of the Calumet,” Chicago Wilderness Magazine, Fall 2001; Illinois House Joint Resolution 16, 21 February 2003, honoring Byrnes’s work; and her 30 May 2010 CT obituary: Duaa Eldeib, “Southeast Side Activist Fought for Environment.”

  37. Naomi Schreier, “State EPA Reviewing Hazardous Waste Sites,” DC, 15 October 1984, p. A5; Manuel Galvan, “Teamwork Urged to Counter Ground-Water Contamination,” CT, 29 October 1984, p. 17; Susan Salter, “S. Side Well Tests Urged Following Cyanide Find,” CST, 29 October 1984, p. 10; Mark Kiesling, “EPA Denies Petition Requesting Probe into Environmental Risks,” DC, 31 October 1984, p. A2; JSB [Juanita Salvador-Burris] to Ben [Reyes], 1 November 1984, HWP Development Box 16 Fld. 31; Mark Kiesling, “Cleanup of S. Deering Waste Site Begins,” DC, 16 November 1984, p. B2; Casey Bukro, “State to Clean Up South Side Dump,” CT, 21 November 1984, p. A4; Robert Bergsvik, “South Deering Residents Leery About Bright School Adoption,” DC, 22 November 1984, p. A2; Bergsvik, “Adoption of Bright School Is Halted,” DC, 26 November 1984, p. A1; Bergsvik, “Bright School Adoption Nixed,” DC, 1 December 1984, p. A2; Bergsvik, “Community Group Renews Its Push for Jobs Center,” DC, 1 December 1984, p. A1; “Jobs Center Closer,” DC, 6 December 1984, p. A1; Wisconsin Steelworkers SOJC, “Progress Report,” 9 December 1984, FLP Box 4 Fld. 9 and CFP Box 38 Fld. 473; Larry Galica, “Ex-Wis. Steel Workers Still Hoping,” DC, 28 January 1985, p. A2.

  38. “South Side United Neighbors—Transition from Grant Williams to Steuart Pittman,” 20 September 1984, IA Box 2 Fld 33; “ACORN Organizing Committee Meeting,” 20 September [1984], “Altgeld Tenants United (ATU)–ACORN Second Organizing Committee Meeting,” 4 October 1984, both IA Box 3 Fld. 58; Press Release, “Altgeld Tenants Demand Sewer Repairs,” 10 October 1984, IA Box 3 Fld. 59; Esther Wheeler to ATU/ACORN, 11 October 1984, IA Box 4 Fld. 60; “Odors Protested by CHA Residents,” CT, 12 October 1984; “Last Organizing Committee Meeting, Altgeld Tenants Union–ACORN,” 29 October 1984, “First Neighborhood Meeting of Altgeld Tenants United–ACORN,” 30 October 1984, “What Is ACORN?,” ca. 1 November 1984, all IAP Box 2 Fld. 32 and Box 3 Fld. 58; Press Release, “ACORN Members in Altgeld Gardens Demand Sewer Repairs,” 8 November 1984, Carl Taylor, “ACORN Members Protest Sewers in Altgeld,” 12 November 1984, ACORN–Altgeld Tenants United, “Facts About Our Campaign to Get the Sewers Fixed,” [14 November 1984], ACORN “Press Release,” 14 November 1984, all IA Box 3 Fld. 59; Altgeld Tenants United News, n.d., IA Box 2 Fld. 32; Juanita Bratcher, “CHA Hit on Sewer Crisis at Altgeld,” CD, 15 November 1984, p. 1; Bratcher, “Cite $6 Mil Altgeld Repairs,” CD, 20 November 1984, p. 1; Agenda, ACORN–ATU Planning Meeting, 26 November 1984, IA Box 2 Fld. 32; Perry H. Hutchinson to Superintendent Fred Rice, 28 November 1984, HWP Central Office Files Box 42 Fld. 6; Agenda, ACORN Altgeld Tenants United Neighborhood Meeting, 29 November 1984, IA Box 2 Fld. 32; Steuart Pittman, “Status Report,” 17 December 1984, IA Box 2 Fld. 62; ACORN Altgeld Tenants United Monthly Meeting, 20 December 1984, IA Box 2 Fld. 58; Madeline Talbott, “Year End–Year Begin Report and Plan, Illinois ACORN,” 1 January 1985, IA Box 2 Fld. 63; Leon Despres to William Walls, 16 January 1985, and Seborn E. Blackburn to Leon Despres, 21 February 1985, both HWP Central Office Files Box 1 Fld. 20; “ACORN Planning Meeting for Tour of Waste Management, Inc.,” 21 January [1985], IA Box 3 Fld. 56; Illinois ACORN, “Notes on March 26 [1985] Board Meeting,” IA Box 1 Fld. 10; ACORN–Altgeld Tenants United Meeting, 27 March 1985, IA Box 2 Fld. 72; Steuart Pittman, “Transition Notes,” Altgeld Tenants United–ACORN, March 1985, IA Box 2 Fld. 33; Steuart Pittman to Wade Rathke, 27 October 1984, IA 2003-072 Box 1; DJG interviews with Steuart Pittman, Madeline Talbott, and Keith Kelleher. On Esther Wheeler, also see Cheryl W. Thompson, “Altgeld Gardens, City and Parks Join to Give Children a Place of Their Own,” CT, 6 June 1993, Flynn McRoberts, “CHA Tries a Blend of Management,” CT, 16 November 1994, and Obama, Dreams From My Father, p. 229 (“Mrs. Reece”).

  39. PCR Press Release, “Southeast Side Resident Release Health Survey and Call on City to Ban New Landfills on the Southeast Side,” 16 January 1985, CRF Box 30 Fld. 368; “Southeast Siders Back Waste Ban,” CT, 17 January 1985, p. C6; “Statement by Mayor Harold Washington,” 23 January 1985, HWP Development Box 15 Fld. 26; Casey Bukro, “Mayor Urges Banning New Dumps, Tighter Rules,” CT, 24 January 1985, p. A3; Harry Golden Jr., “Mayor Asks New Restrictions on Waste Disposal Facilities,” CST, 24 January 1985, p. 34; Mark Kiesling and Robert Bergsvik, “City Council Extends Ban on Landfill Development,” DC, 24 January 1985, p. A1; Solid Waste Management Task Force list, 6 February 1985, HWP Press Secretary Box 4 Fld. 28; “Waste Management Earns $142 Million,” DC, 22 February 1985, p. B2; “City Extends Landfill Moratorium,” TNW, March 1985, p. 16; Juanita Salvador-Burris to Benjamin Reyes et al., “Request for Meeting by Coalition for Appropriate Waste Disposal,” 11 March 1985, and “Briefing Summary,” ca. 17 April 1985, both HWP Development Box 16 Fld. 40; Robert Bergsvik, “Elimination of Landfill Is Sought,” DC, 26 April 1985, p. A2; “Tough Talk,” DC, 29 April 1985, p. A3; Robert Bergsvik, “Timing Not Right for UNO Protest,” DC, 9 May 1985, p. A3; “MSD Takes Dump Off Its Agenda,” HN, 16 May 1985, p. 1; James E. Landing, “Things You Should Know,” HN, 16 May 1985, pp. 1, 5; Casey Bukro, “U.S. to Sniff Out Calumet,” CT, 10 June 1985, p. 1; “Take Urgent Action Against New Dump,” HN, 13 June 1985, p. 1; Violet T. Czachorski, “We Stand Alone in MSD Fight,” HN, 20 June 1985, p. 1; Robert Bergsvik, “Sludge: Mounting Problem Forces MSD Land Action,” DC, 20 June 1985, p. A3; Bergsvik, “MSD Agrees to Open Talks with Waste Management,” DC, 28 June 1985, p. A1; Vi Czachorski, “MSD to Begin Dump Talks,” HN, 4 July 1985, p. 1; and Hazel Johnson to Jackie Schad, 6 June 1986, CRF Box 30 Fld. 368. On the O’Brien Lock & Dam, see especially John Kass and Mark Eissman, “Waste Hill in Plan for Southeast Side,” CT, 13 March 1984, p. B2; and also Mark J. Bouman, “A Mirror Cracked: Ten Keys to the Landscape of the Calumet Region,” Journal of Geography 100 (May–June 2001): 104–10; on HN publisher Vi Czachorski, see her 11 July 2013 CT obituary: Joan Kates, “Violet Czachorski, Publisher of Hegewisch News.”

  40. DJG interviews with Ellen Benjamin and Roberta Lynch; “Agenda—Meeting with Mayor Washington, February 5, 1985,” HWP Central Office Files Box 9 Fld. 41; Robert Mier to Benjamin Reyes, “Monthly Management Plan Status Report,” 13 March 1985, HWP DS Box 2 Fld. 18; “Roseland Community” Notes, ca. 28–29 April 1985 and “Roseland” 3x5 card, n.d., both HWP DS Box 8 Fld. 9; John Betancur et al., “Roseland: Needs Assessment and Organizational Infrastructure, An Introduction,” Center for Urban Economic Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, June 1985.