Southeast Environmental Task Force

After many years of leadership at the Southeast Environmental Task Force, Olga Bautista is stepping away from her role as Co-Executive Director. For decades, Olga has been a leading voice for environmental justice on Chicago’s Southeast Side. Alongside residents, youth leaders, and community partners, she helped build one of the most powerful environmental justice movements in the Midwest, organizing neighbors, confronting powerful polluters, and fighting for the right of all communities to live in healthy environments. Her work has helped elevate national attention to environmental racism and community-led solutions. From challenging harmful industrial developments to building coalitions across Chicago, Olga has remained grounded in the belief that communities most impacted by pollution must lead the fight for change. Olga has also been selected as the inaugural recipient of the Transition with Justice Sabbatical Award from the Chicago Frontlines Fund. The award recognizes longtime leaders in the environmental justice movement and provides space for rest, reflection, and renewal so that movements can continue to grow stronger. Leadership transitions are part of building strong and lasting organizations. Olga has deep confidence in the Southeast Environmental Task Force team and in Oscar Sanchez, who will lead the organization forward as Executive Director. While stepping away from her formal role, Olga’s commitment to environmental justice, community power, and the Southeast Side continues. #EnvironmentalJustice #SoutheastSideChicago #ClimateJustice #CommunityPower #ChicagoFrontlinesFund EnvironmentalJusticeMovement

**Seguido en Español** GreenLatinos Illinois and our partners at @se_taskforce taking a boat tour along the Calumet River 🚤🌊 A great afternoon connecting and sharing updates on the 100th St. access project! 📸 Photo credit: Amy Heldman. __________ **Español** GreenLatinos Illinois y nuestros socios de @se_taskforce en un recorrido en bote por el río Calumet 🚤🌊 Una gran tarde para conectar y compartir actualizaciones sobre el proyecto de acceso en la calle 100! 📸 Crédito de la foto: Amy Heldman

Guess WHAT gang?! 👀 We can officially get back on the 100th st. site, and we're celebrating 😎 🕺🏽 We hope you'll join us!

Join us tomorrow at City Hall at the first Zoning Committee Meeting to be held in months. The Hazel M Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance is currently in this committee. It’s important that the committee hears from YOU to understand the deep importance of supporting the CIO as a step towards protecting our communities and health! #endsacrificezones

📣 No somos uno! No somos dos! Somos millones cuenta nos bien! ✊ As MAY DAY is approaching, where hundreds of folks march across the nation in fighting multiple rights either for themselves, a neighbor, and/or a loved one. Others may want to join but need more information/education that draws the question… Why May Day? 💪 Join us Monday, April 20th at our office (9805 S Ewing Ave) as why parents, educators, community, students should unite and join the movement against the injustices that’s been occurring. Register by scanning the QR code or by clicking the link /why . #mayday ——— 📣 No somos uno! No somos dos! Somos millones cuenta nos bien! ✊ Se acerca el Primero de Mayo, día en el que miles de personas se manifiestan por todo el país para defender diversos derechos, ya sea para ellos mismos, para un vecino o para un ser querido. Puede que haya quienes quieran unirse, pero necesiten más información o educación, lo que lleva a preguntarse… ¿Por qué el Primero de Mayo? 💪 Únete a nosotros el lunes 20 de abril en nuestra oficina (9805 S Ewing Ave) para descubrir por qué los padres, los educadores, la comunidad y los estudiantes deben unirse y sumarse al movimiento contra las injusticias que se han estado produciendo. Inscríbete escaneando el código QR o haciendo clic en el enlace /why

Last Wednesday, Sunrise Chicago joined Southeast Environmental Task Force to host our first Make Polluters Pay community dinner in Woodlawn! We shared food, learned together about the fight to hold polluters accountable for how they harm our communities, and discussed what climate justice would look like in our backyards.

Chicago’s City Council must appoint an environmentally just Zoning Chair. Environmental activists urge action now for a greener, more equitable and more livable Chicago. Since January, 40+ development projects across Chicago have stalled because our City Council has no Zoning Chair. We are unable to advance dense, affordable housing proposals near transit, nor desperately needed environmental justice legislation. This must change now. Our communities need a Zoning Chair who will call for a vote and support the Hazel M. Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance to end sacrifice zones in neighborhoods overburdened with pollution. Without a Chair, this ordinance has been stalled for months in the Zoning Committee. This contributes to widening inequities in wealth, environmental burden and life expectancy. Chicago needs a Zoning Chair who will expand by-right housing options and prioritize the development of affordable, car-free housing built with union labor that makes Chicago a more equitable, walkable and transit-forward city. Every day that goes by without a Zoning Chair is another day that environmental justice communities breathe more poisoned air and affordable housing units remain unbuilt. City Council must act immediately to name an environmentally just Zoning Chair. @sierraclubchicago @se_taskforce @betterstreetschicago @pcrchi @chicagosmayor

It’s time to save the date for City Council’s monthly meeting, April 15th! During this Earth month, we want alders to know that environmental efforts are not only about park cleanings and recycling, but addressing the decades of harmful zoning practices that has resulted in high rates of asthma and health impacts for all Chicagoans. Now is the time to pass the Hazel M Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance. #endsacrificezones #hazelmjohnsonordinance #cumulativeimpacts

🗣 Please join us for the next installment in our 100th st. event series! 📅 April 19th, 2026 🕑 12pm-3pm 📍96th st. & Baltimore Ave Registration Link: /e/a-new-public-imaginary-for-the-calumet-river-tickets-1985286296756?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true

🌟 Join your neighbors, community members, and climate justice advocates April 8th! We’ll have an evening of 🍽️ shared food, learning, and conversation around building people power for the climate superfund bill in Illinois, demanding that our biggest polluters pay for the damage they cause to our communities! This event is co-hosted by @se_taskforce and @sunrisemvmtchi 🫶 📍Experimental Station, 6100 S Blackstone Ave, Chicago, IL (accessible by CTA & Metra Electric) 🗓️ Wednesday, April 8th, 6 PM 🔗 in bio to signup!

Can you believe we are celebrating 5 whole years of the Calumet River Beach Clean-ups?! 🎉 Come celebrate with us! 🥳 🗓 March 28, 2026 📍Vodak Library, 3710 E 106th St. Chicago, IL 🕑10am-1pm

Fight off the false spring blues by joining us for warm day at Vodak Library! 🫵 Be there or be a rotten fish on Calumet Beach 🐟. ¡Combate la melancolía primaveral y únete a nosotros para disfrutar de un cálido día en la Biblioteca Vodak! 🫵Asiste o serás un pez podrido en la playa de Calumet 🐟