Fighting climate change in the Windy City

How race and identity are shaping politics, policy and power.

Apr 11, 2023 View in browser   By Minho Kim With help from Jesse Naranjo, Ella Creamer, Rishika Dugyala and Teresa Wiltz POLITICO illustration/Photo by AP Hey, Recasters! I’m filling in for Brakkton today. It’s only Tuesday, but what a week! Fallout continues over the leaked Pentagon papers, Chicago is set to host the 2024 Democratic convention and one of the ousted Tennessee lawmakers is reinstated. But first, we’re digging into the politics of environmental justice in the Windy City.  From the start of his quest to become mayor of Chicago, progressive Brandon Johnson made environmental justice a personal issue. The former Chicago public school teacher talked about his own battles with asthma — “I grew up with asthma. I still suffer from it.” — a condition known to be exacerbated by pollution. And everywhere Johnson went, he talked about how he was raising three children in Chicago’s Far West Side neighborhood of Austin, a majority-Black area that is ranked as one of the most polluted areas in the Windy City. “For too long our communities have been seen as dumping grounds for waste and materials that no one seems to know what else to do with,” Johnson said at a mayoral forum held in the heavily Latino neighborhood of Pilsen. His earnestness paid off. One of the largest green groups in the state, Illinois Sierra Club, endorsed Johnson on March 8 for his track record on climate and environmental justice issues. A few weeks later, Johnson clinched an unexpected 4-point victory in a runoff — over his law-and-order opponent Paul Vallas, who had led the polls by 2 to 5 percentage points throughout the race. Brandon Johnson campaigns at Manny's Cafeteria & Delicatessen during the mayoral runoff election, April 4, 2023, in Chicago. | Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images As a key building block of Johnson’s coalition, local climate advocates are now ready to cash out.   Was The Recast forwarded to you by a friend? Don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter here. You'll get a twice-weekly breakdown of how race and identity are the DNA of American politics and policy.   Johnson’s first test would be how much he could deliver on the building emissions ordinance that Chicago’s green groups have long waited for. The mayor-elect promised “a climate justice buildings ordinance” — which would tackle emissions but keep tenants’ energy bills low — as a top priority of his administration. If passed, the ordinance would compel buildings and historic skyscrapers in the nation’s third-largest city to choose between reducing emissions — or paying a huge fine. The idea is to create “pollution-free” homes and buildings in the city, where such structures are responsible for 69 percent of the city’s total emissions. (Buildings account for a majority of emissions for most big cities — 70 percent in New York City and 80 percent in St. Louis.) Hopes are high. “We believe the new mayor will champion the building decarbonization action plan,” said Kady McFadden, a Chicago campaign strategist and climate policy advocate for the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition. “Brandon Johnson is a candidate who ran with climate and environmental justice in the center of his platform.” Chicago was once a leader in local efforts to address climate change, but it has fallen behind in recent years. Thousands of protesters take over Dearborn Street in Chicago's famed Loop during a global climate change march, Sept. 20, 2019. | Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo In 2019, it was the first U.S. city to launch an energy rating system, which requires large buildings to put out placards showing energy-efficiency levels. (New York quickly followed suit.) But more recently, other cities, including New York, Washington D.C., Boston and St. Louis, started pulling ahead of the pack. They did it by adopting performance standards that require new and existing buildings to meet emissions caps and energy-efficiency targets. To play a quick catch-up, climate activists like McFadden’s Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition are pinning their hopes on the building ordinance, which would put in place regulations for new construction permits. Only the buildings that plan to go all-electric could break ground from 2025, if the measure is passed. That means major renovations would take out all appliances burning gas, oil or propane. Climate advocates want the City Council and the mayor-elect to pass the ordinance within the first 100 days after Johnson’s inauguration on May 15. But there are obstacles. Standing between Johnson and climate advocates are construction union workers, who vehemently opposed new building permit regulations. They worry that strict new building codes would wipe out both carbon emissions — and their good-paying union construction jobs. Chicago mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson speaks to supporters during a public listening session at Principle Barbers, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022, in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago. | Erin Hooley/AP Photo Their strength had been proven formidable. Faced with opposition from the construction workers union, Mayor Lori Lightfoot switched her position and lent support to subsidizing Lincoln Yards — a large scale private development project around North Chicago River. Lightfoot failed in her quest for reelection this year. Unlike Lightfoot, however, Johnson did not win with the support of construction union workers. He instead rose to power with the backing of the Chicago Teachers Union — one of the strongest proponents of climate action in the city. Climate advocates are also confident that Johnson is close to securing enough votes from the 50 City Council members — or alderpersons in local-speak — to push through these ambitious regulations. Four out of five candidates endorsed by the Illinois Sierra Club were elected to the City Council last week. A majority of newly elected members are progressives. There is support “across the political spectrum” in Chicago to address climate change, McFadden said. “[Building emissions ordinance] was a matter of falling to the bottom of a prioritization list for our last mayor,” she said. “We're hoping that's not going to be the case with the new administration and with the new council.” Construction workers worry strict new building codes would wipe out both carbon emissions — and their good-paying union construction jobs. | Scott Olson/Getty Images Meanwhile, Chicago’s climate advocates are also optimistic that massive federal subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act will reduce emissions in the city. President Joe Biden’s climate bill provides $27 billion in low-interest loans that would finance building renovations projects designed to reduce emissions. It also provides to building owners who reduce energy usage by more than 25 percent a tax credit of $5 per square foot. “There's a lot of energy efficiency that gets left on the table,” said Howard Learner, president and executive director at Environmental Law and Policy Center. “Carpe diem. Let's seize the opportunity of federal financial support.” As always, we’ll be watching to see how this all plays out. All the best, The Recast Team   TENNESSEE TWO-STEP Nashville Democratic Rep. Justin Jones walks into the House chamber with Rep. Gloria Johnson on Monday, April 10, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. | George Walker IV/AP Photo Just days after the Republican-dominated Tennessee House voted to expel two Black Democratic colleagues, one of those lawmakers returned to the chamber yesterday and the second expects to be reappointed soon. The 36-member Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County unanimously voted to send Rep. Justin Jones, 27, back to the statehouse as an interim representative. Meanwhile, expelled Memphis-area Rep. Justin J. Pearson says he is hopeful he'll be reinstated in short order but says he is worried there will be retaliation. (See below for Jackie Padilla's interview with Pearson.) The expulsion of the two lawmakers — and attempted expulsion of a third, Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white — thrust the Democratic legislators into the national spotlight. The three clashed with the GOP-dominated legislature after they protested in the statehouse following a mass shooting at a Nashville school. Words of support for the young lawmakers and condemnation of Tennessee Republicans poured in from prominent officials including President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama. Vice President Kamala Harris visited Nashville last week to meet with the three lawmakers, dubbed the “Tennessee Three,” and rally for more stringent gun legislation. Jones was escorted back into the chamber by Johnson, the sole member of the trio to narrowly avoid expulsion. Asked last week why that was, Johnson responded: “It might have to do with the color of our skin.” Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones puts on his legislative pin as he enters the state Capitol, Monday, April 10, 2023, in Nashville. | George Walker IV/AP Photo As POLITICO’s Liz Crampton reports, there will be a special election later this year to select a permanent representative for Jones’ seat, and he is likely to be in that running. Expulsions in state houses are relatively rare and generally involve criminality or misconduct on the part of the expelled lawmakers. It’s only happened a few times in Tennessee’s history, the first case being six lawmakers who refused to ratify the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting formerly enslaved people the right to citizenship. For more background on the dynamics at play in the Tennessee Legislature, POLITICO’s Natalie Allison — who covered the body for The Tennessean — has a detailed explainer on its recent history.   ICYMI @ POLITICO Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called anti-drug policies in the U.S. a failure and proposed a ban on using fentanyl in medicine. | Marco Ugarte/AP Photo Bombing the Cartels? — Some Republicans are proposing a novel way to combat the flow of fentanyl crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, and it’s one the Biden administration has flat-out rejected: involving the military. POLITICO’s Alex Ward reports on the House GOP lawmakers trying to make the case. Chicago to Host Convention — Next year’s Democratic National Convention will take place in the Windy City. As POLITICO’s Shia Kapos reports, Biden and DNC Chair Jaime Harrison picked Chicago over New York and Atlanta, despite the president’s larger attempts to cement a foothold in the South. WATCH: Expelled lawmaker says Tennessee House will retaliate if he's reinstated Docs Leak Stuns Officials — The recently disclosed leak of top-secret intelligence and military documents on the internet has left government officials staggering, POLITICO’s Lara Seligman reports. In addition to documents pertaining to Russia’s war in Ukraine, they include secrets ranging topics from South Korea to Turkey.   THE RECAST RECOMMENDS “Minor Notes,” released today, is the first installment of an anthology series celebrating unsung Black poets, curated by Jesse McCarthy and Joshua Bennett. “Praise This” — streaming now on Peacock — follows aspiring singer Sam (Chlöe Bailey) as she enters Atlanta’s competitive youth gospel choir scene. Spend a day with BTS’ Jimin in New York as he visits a vinyl store and talks going solo. The queen of dancehall, Shenseea, showcases serious lyrical flow in “Locked Up” ahead of her Coachella debut. Catch “Redefined: J.R. Smith” on Prime Video, documenting the two-time NBA champion’s move from basketball to golf (ft. LeBron James as an executive producer!). Becky G and Peso Pluma drop a laid-back, sunny visual for their recent hit collab track, “CHANEL.” TikTok of the Day: Well saved   Follow us on Twitter Brakkton Booker @brakktonbooker Rishika Dugyala @rishikadugyala Teresa Wiltz @teresawiltz Jesse Naranjo @jesselnaranjo   Follow us

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