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Social Welfare Law Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social Welfare Law

Draining Chicago’S Food Swamps: Legal Approaches, Sofia Fernandez May 2024

Draining Chicago’S Food Swamps: Legal Approaches, Sofia Fernandez

DePaul Journal of Health Care Law

Public health is a collective responsibility of society to improve the health and wellbeing of communities, focusing on preventing disease and promoting health as opposed to providing medical care for those already ill.1 The law consists of rules issued and enforced by government entities “through which populations organize their governments, regulate social and economic interactions, and guide behavior.”2 Public health law exists at the intersection of these two fields, comprising “the legal powers and duties of the state to identify, prevent, and ameliorate risks to the health of populations, as well as the study of legal structures that have a …


Environmental Justice In Little Village: A Case For Reforming Chicago’S Zoning Law, Charles Isaacs Apr 2020

Environmental Justice In Little Village: A Case For Reforming Chicago’S Zoning Law, Charles Isaacs

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

Chicago’s Little Village community bears the heavy burden of environmental injustice and racism. The residents are mostly immigrants and people of color who live with low levels of income, limited access to healthcare, and disproportionate levels of dangerous air pollution. Before its retirement, Little Village’s Crawford coal-burning power plant was the lead source of air pollution, contributing to 41 deaths, 550 emergency room visits, and 2,800 asthma attacks per year. After the plant’s retirement, community members wanted a say on the future use of the lot, only to be closed out when a corporation, Hilco Redevelopment Partners, bought the lot …