Media Advisory: Friday Press Conference to Encourage Governor J.B. Pritzker to Stand Ground on Northpoint
Labor, Community and Environmental Groups To Hold Press Conference To Encourage Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker to Stand His Ground Against Political Interference by Billionaire Developer Northpoint
The controversial 3000 acre warehouse proposal has been delayed for 3 years by stiff resistance in Will County. Now the developer and its allies are desperately trying to pressure Governor J.B. Pritzker to overrule Elwood by taking over a road in the village needed for the project.
Chicago- A press conference organized by the Warehouse Workers for Justice will encourage Governor J.B. Pritzker to stick with his decision to not take over an Elwood road needed for the massive project. This is just the latest in an ongoing saga around the project in which there have been multiple lawsuits, the latest of which was filed by Elwood against Joliet last week. Last April, despite deep opposition, Joliet passed a pre-annexation agreement after hundreds of testimonies during the first surge in the pandemic. That agreement would later be abandoned after Elwood successfully challenged the legality of that meeting. After passing a new agreement in December, proponents of the project are now trying to pressure Governor J.B. Pritzker into making a part of Walter Strawn Drive in Elwood a state road. The Northpoint project cannot be completed without a bridge that would connect Centerpoint to the property. Elwood refuses to allow the developer to use the road over long standing concerns about infrastructure, traffic, pollution, taxation and job quality in warehouses.
At the press conference WWJ will address claims by proponents that there will be 10,000 good jobs that average $42,000 a year. “This is a complete fabrication,” said Roberto Clack of Warehouse Workers for Justice. “We recently released a report where almost all the respondents said they made less than $20 and 56% made less than $15. 49% work without health insurance and another 20% rely on medicare or medicaid. This kind of deception is among one of the reasons Northpoint has met the kind of resistance it has.”
At the event, organizers will be delivering a petition in support of the Governor and are also circulating an organizational sign on letter in support of the Village of Elwood. A follow-up protest has already been planned in Joliet on March 5th against Northpoint that will demand that local officials end their support for the divisive project. “The movement against Northpoint gives us an opportunity to chart a new way forward,” said Yana Kalmyka, of WWJ. “If Northpoint and their supporters don’t drop their efforts, we are prepared to organize even more protest across the area because we think the region is ready for big changes when it comes to the warehousing and logistics industries.”
WHO: Warehouse Workers for Justice
WHAT: Press Conference and Speak Out on Northpoint in Joliet
WHEN: Friday, February 26th, 10am
WHERE: James R. Thompson Center, 100 W Randolph, Chicago, IL. 60602
Also Follow Press Conference on Warehouse Workers for Justice Facebook Live Stream
PRESS CONTACTS: Roberto Clack, Warehouse Workers for Justice 312.450.1972, roberto@warehouseworker.org
Yana Kalmyka, Warehouse Workers for Justice, 347.930.9516 yana@warehouseworker.org
Official social media hashtags: #JustSayNoToNorthpoint #ResponsibleDevelopmentJoliet #JolietNorthpoint
Based in Joliet Illinois, Warehouse Workers for Justice is a worker center fighting for stable, living-wage jobs in warehouses and distribution centers. We educate workers about labor rights, teach folks how to enforce their rights, organize in the workplace and community and fight for public and private policies that promote full-time work at decent wages in the warehouse industry.
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