Chicago’s Coal Plants

Coal-burning power plants are a major source of air pollution and global warming emissions in the United States, and especially Chicago. The pollutants that come from power plants cause respiratory problems, lung disease and even neurological damage.

Fisk and Crawford

Existing power plants, such as the Crawford and Fisk plants in Chicago, were “grandfathered” by the federal government and are subject to more lenient federal pollution limits because of their age. Fisk was originally constructed in 1903 and Crawford in 1924. While these plants have been re-tooled and upgraded over the years, and enjoy more relaxed rules than most, they still blatantly and repeatedly exceed their air pollution limits.

Did You Know…

Chicago ranks as the second hardest hit city in the entire country for the impacts of power plant pollution. According to a 2001 study conducted by researches from the Harvard School of Public Health, the estimated impacts of the two Chicago power plants, Crawford and Fisk, are:

• 40+ premature deaths per year
• 2800 asthma attacks per year
• 500 emergency room visits per year

More people live near Crawford and Fisk than any other coal-fired power plant in the U.S. In fact, the population density surrounding Fisk alone is nearly twice that of the next most densely populated coal-fired power plant neighborhood. While the pollutants and health damage are left behind in Chicago, the electricity actually is sold to out-of- state buyers.