Keeping Waukegan Residents Safe from Coronavirus, Environmental Concerns


The industrial history of north suburban Waukegan has created a legacy of environmental issues for residents. 

The area is home to several EPA Superfund sites, and activists have still been working in recent years to mitigate past pollution and get area businesses to adopt greener practices.

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“Waukegan has a big history of industry and a lot of that industry has left and we were left with no jobs,” said Celeste Flores of Clean Power Lake County and Faith in Place. She’s worked for years to guarantee “rights to clean air, clean water, and healthy soil.

“We want to make sure that we are planning for our future in the way that our community needs it. Our community is made up of immigrants, it’s a working class community and we need to make sure that whatever economic relief comes it comes with jobs in mind that are for our community.”

Many of those immigrants, Flores notes, are Latino. She says it’s important that coronavirus education and outreach is reaching Spanish speakers.

“In Waukegan and in Lake County we already have a lot of health concerns and a lot of things (pollutants) are going into our air,” Flores said. “Our health is already being compromised and this is only exacerbating that. ... We need to make sure that those (whose) native language is Spanish are getting the information at the same time as our English speakers.”


Community Reporting Series

“Chicago Tonight” is expanding its community reporting. We’re hitting the streets to speak with your neighbors, local businesses, agencies and leaders about COVID-19, the economy, racial justice, education and more. See where we’ve been and what we’ve learned by using the map below. Or select a community using the drop-down menu. Points in red represent our series COVID-19 Across Chicago; blue marks our series “Chicago Tonight” in Your Neighborhood.


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