Pilsen is one of the city’s most vibrant neighborhoods – characterized by a colorful celebration of Latin American and Mexican culture everywhere you look. From the 1,400 businesses that line our streets, the annual Mole De Mayo Festival, and the Buen Provecho Taste of Pilsen, our community has always been a place for people to gather and celebrate their heritage. Yet, hanging over our vibrant community is the growing need to advance commonsense clean air standards.

 

Our community – including the small businesses that make it such a great place to live and work – has long been concerned with air quality. The inddustrialization of our area has led to a constant flow of diesel trucks, which have significantly impacted our air quality. Unfortunately, this has, in turn, impacted the health and well-being of Pilsen’s residents.

While we have taken every initiative to work with City leaders to solve the issue, more can be done. Now it’s time for our lawmakers in Springfield to act on that need by advancing policies that reduce emissions and help communities like ours statewide.

While the need for urgent action is evident, a balanced approach to equitably reur emissions statewide is perhaps even more critical. As we have seen tuitable Jobs Act (CEJA), which continues to lag on the promise of creating jobs and opportunities, faulty climate legislation does nothing but make the situation worse, particularly for communities like ours. This is especially true when considering that recent studies have found that low-income communities often bear the brunt of the costs of climate policies. Meanwhile, beyond the individual impact of many climate policies, they also significantly burden small businesses – which could have a disproportionate effect on communities like ours.

To counteract this, we must explore business-friendly solutions that substantially lower emissions without raising costs for Illinoisans. Establishing a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) can achieve that regulatory balance.

As we have seen with the model established by states like New Mexico, which recently passed LCFS legislation, a low-carbon fuel standard is a powerful tool to encourage industries to lower their emissions by establishing statewide feasible goals on realistic timelines. By establishing these goals, legislation like this opens the market to competitively find ways to reach it without passing the costs on to consumers. With LCFS legislation, Illinois could encourage the transportation industry to lower its carbon footprint by embracing technologies like lower-carbon fuels. Meanwhile, as these industries gain a foothold in our state, we’ll see new job opportunities and investments spurred by their growth.

To bring about lasting change in Pilsen, we must adopt solutions that protect our residents’ health without raising costs and stifling the vibrant small businesses that define  our community. A low-carbon fuel standard is not just a policy; it’s a pathway to cleaner air, economic growth, and healthier communities. As such, I hope the Illinois General Assembly will get to work.

Alex Esparza is president of the Economic Strategies Development Corporation (ESDC). ESDC is the primary economic development organization serving the Pilsen community of Chicago since 1976.