City Hall Quit Coal Balloon Banner

A balloon banner on the ceiling of the atrium at Chicago City Hall with a message reading "Mayor Daley, is this your 'green legacy?" referring to the Fisk and Crawford coal-burning power plants.

Unique identifier: GP03CIT

Type: Image

Shoot date: 17/02/2011

Locations: Chicago, Illinois, North America, United States of America

Credit line: © Stephen J. Carrera / Greenpeace

Ranking: ★★★★★★ (B)

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Quit Coal Balloon Banner Chicago

Environmental activists send a message to Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley by releasing a balloon banner in the atrium of City Hall calling on him to close Chicago's two coal-burning power plants. The message read "Mayor Daley, is this your 'green legacy?" It was referring to the Fisk and Crawford coal-burning power plants. The Fisk and Crawford plants – operated by Edison International subsidiary Midwest Generation are among the oldest in the United States. More people live in range of these plants than any other coal plant in America; nearly one in four Chicagoans live in a three mile radius of one or both plants.

An estimated 42 Chicagoans die each year as a result of pollution from Fisk and Crawford, including residents in the severely affected communities of Pilsen (near the Fisk plant) and Little Village (near the Crawford plant). According to a report from the Clean Air Task Force, residents are at risk for heart disease, cancer, and respiratory illness because of pollution from these plants.

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