Chicago Pushes Environmental Zoning Ahead Amid Opposition

Mayor Brandon Johnson scored a procedural win for his environmental agenda this week, moving a long-stalled zoning measure out of legislative purgatory.

But the fight over the Hazel Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance is far from over.

The city council voted to send the proposal to the zoning committee after it languished for months, Crain’s reported. Named for the late Southeast Side environmental justice advocate, the ordinance would force developers seeking heavy industrial rezonings to study how projects would add to pollution in Black and Brown neighborhoods that already bear the brunt of emissions.

Supporters cast it as a long-overdue check on environmental racism. Opponents — an unusual coalition of business groups and organized labor — say it could spook investors and threaten blue-collar jobs. The Johnson administration floated amendments last week clarifying that an environmental review board would only serve in an advisory role, not override city departments. But critics say the tweaks don’t go far enough.

The opposition had planned to fight a motion to reroute the measure, but backed off after Alderman Julia Ramirez, a sponsor, agreed to further negotiations. Alderman Gilbert Villegas, who is against the ordinance as written, said he was encouraged by the compromise.

Chicago is trying to balance its economic development ambitions while advancing community health. In the past, the city’s patchwork approach to industrial zoning fueled frustration on both sides: developers face regulatory uncertainty, while residents fear being saddled with new smokestacks without meaningful input.

During former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration there was the General Iron saga — when the city first greenlit, then blocked, the scrap metal firm’s move from Lincoln Park to the Southeast Side — remains a cautionary tale. That reversal triggered a hunger strike, multiple lawsuits and a claim for $100 million damages by the firm that is still winding through the courts.

Jack Lavin of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce summed up the business position bluntly: companies need predictable rules before committing capital. Environmental advocates counter that predictability shouldn’t come at the expense of neighborhoods already overburdened by pollution.

— Eric Weilbacher