It was a packed room at South Chicago’s Salud Center on Tuesday evening, as residents and allies discussed what they would like to see happen at the pioneering quantum computing campus planned at the former U.S. Steel South Works site.
The campus, called the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, received final approvals from the city of Chicago last year. Co-developers Related Midwest and CRG are expected to break ground before the end of 2025.
But organizers from the Coalition for South Works CBA have been pushing for a legally binding agreement, or a community benefits agreement, that would ensure residents benefit from the project. Low-income communities of color are often shut out of revitalization conversations, and a community benefits agreement can be a tool to ensure communities benefit from redevelopment efforts, according to the Urban Institute.
The coalition includes residents and more than 40 organizations like the Alliance of the Southeast, as well as businesses and churches.
Organizers highlighted three demands Tuesday from their latest CBA proposal: environmental safeguards, protections for homeowners and renters and jobs for residents.
“We want to make sure with this potential development coming that we are not displaced; that we are not poisoned,” Renee Nowlin, member of the KECS Block Club Association in the 7th Ward, said.
Community organizers said they wanted assurances that they won’t be poisoned by any remaining toxins at the site, such as heavy metals like arsenic.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has said environmental remediation on the site is complete. It was evaluated as safe for public occupation in 1997 then re-evaluated in 2006 and 2010.
Other environmental demands include safeguards for residents and construction workers; preservation of and investment in adjoining public parks; and protections for wildlife and natural habitats encompassing the land. Suggested protections also included the prevention of air, water, light and noise pollution.
“This is about our lives, our health, our well-being, the well-being of our children and the well-being of our whole community,” said Anne Holcomb, activist and member of the environmental justice group ETHOS. “We’re going to stand in this fight until they build it right.”
The CBA also proposes a 30-year property tax break for nearby homeowners— similar to what Related Midwest received for the site. It also called for the establishment of a community credit union and giving residents the first right to purchase vacant lots around the campus.
Residents also want developers to prioritize hiring locally, including community members who are underemployed or unemployed, minorities, women, people with disabilities, formerly incarcerated individuals or veterans. And developers should commit to investing in Bowen High School, since younger generations will benefit the most from quantum education and future jobs at the campus, some speakers said.
Small businesses and entrepreneurs should also have equal access to capital and not lose financing because of the quantum campus, activists argued.
Nowlin said the coalition’s next steps are to increase community awareness and get a seat at the table with Related Midwest. They also want to have conversations with more elected officials, including Gov. JB Pritzker or a representative from his office.
Pritzker has previously acknowledged residents and activists’ concerns while remaining optimistic about the campus’ benefits, citing the new jobs and economic activity it will bring.
“We’re going to keep fighting until we can’t fight anymore — even when they do the groundbreaking,” Nowlin said.
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
