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Stop Sterigenics furious over Friday night IEPA news dump
Background is here. From a press release…Last Friday at 5pm, the Illinois EPA released several decisions paving the way for Sterigenics to resume emitting cancer-causing ethylene oxide into southeast DuPage and southwest Cook Counties.
It has been a tortured and tumultuous year for Willowbrook and area residents who have been fighting to prohibit further emissions into their community. In fact, in the heat of the 2018 election season, nearly a year ago to the day, Christian Mitchell, now Deputy Governor, launched a tweet as he campaigned for then-Candidate Pritzker, criticizing Governor Bruce Rauner for allowing Sterigenics to continue “pouring cancer causing pollutants into the air.” Mr. Mitchell requested at that time that members of the community affected by Sterigenics join him outside the Thompson Center for a press conference denouncing the corporate polluter and then-Gov. Rauner’s failure to act.
Now as Deputy Governor, Christian Mitchell oversees the Illinois EPA. Yet, this past Friday, Sterigenics was granted a construction permit by the IEPA which puts them on a clear path to reopening.
Citizen groups have led the charge since learning about this toxic chemical and its links to the cancer clusters in their area. Citizens continue to fight and urge the administration to leave the politics out of this issue.
Read more: https://capitolfax.com/2019/09/23/stop-sterigenics-furious-with-friday-night-iepa-news-dump/