Chicago environmental justice groups still reeling after epa abruptly cancels community change grants

After four decades of environmental justice organizing, Cheryl Johnson had never witnessed funding as transformative as the EPA’s Community Change grants. “It gave real money to disinvested communities like mine, funding to clean up and to revitalize our communities,” Johnson explained. But her hope was short-lived when the current administration abruptly terminated the program with “a stroke of another pen.”

The sudden cancellation of Community Change grants has sent shockwaves through environmental justice communities nationwide, with Chicago bearing a particularly heavy burden. Local organizations that had already been awarded grants—and had begun planning crucial environmental remediation and community revitalization projects—found themselves scrambling to fill funding gaps and reimagine their initiatives.

These Chicago groups are now confronting the harsh reality of starting over, forced to seek alternative funding sources while their communities continue to face environmental hazards. The grants represented more than just financial support; they symbolized federal recognition of environmental injustices that have plagued marginalized neighborhoods for generations. Many of these communities suffer from higher rates of pollution, inadequate infrastructure, and limited access to green spaces.

The ripple effects extend beyond individual projects to the broader environmental justice movement. Community organizers worry that the abrupt policy reversal signals a retreat from federal commitments to environmental equity. As Chicago’s environmental justice advocates work to pick up the pieces, they face an uncertain future while continuing to fight for the clean, healthy environments their communities deserve.