a tool from Neighbors For Environmental Justice

Where should the air monitors go?

As part of a federal agreement, Chicago promised to install 220 air monitors, mostly in neighborhoods with a lot of pollution.

The city hasn't decided where to put them yet, and we want to make sure they pick useful locations: maybe a place you see kids playing, or trucks idling, or smell something bad.

Where do you think they should go?

1. PICK A SPOT ON THE MAP

There are four ways to choose:

  • Click on the map
  • Drag the marker
  • Find your current location
  • Search for an address
2. TELL US ABOUT IT (optional)

Why do we need air monitors?

  • In Chicago, how much pollution you breathe depends a lot on where you live
  • Air monitors help us know what we're breathing
  • On days with the worst air pollution, we can take actions to stay safe, like running air filters and wearing masks
  • We can use this data to push the city to take action

Does it matter where they go?

  • Yes! Air monitors can only measure what's nearby
  • Depending on weather and nearby sources of pollution, even a few blocks can make a big difference
  • The places that have the most pollution in Chicago (South and Southwest Chicago) do not have air monitors installed by the government to measure the air quality

What kind of air monitors are they?

  • Clarity Node-S monitors
  • They use solar panels, and will be installed on light poles
  • They measure particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)
  • They will upload data to a public dashboard

Doesn't the city have air monitors already?

  • There are only a few government-owned air monitors in or near Chicago
  • They're mostly not owned by the city, and mostly not in neighborhoods with the worst pollution
  • A study found the US EPA puts more air monitors in white neighborhoods
  • You can see readings from the six Illinois EPA monitors
  • Community groups and residents have also put up air monitors on their own

What is air pollution?

  • Pollution is tiny bits of stuff we inhale when we breathe
  • It can be made of gases, or tiny particles that are 100 times thinner than a human hair
  • Sometimes you can smell, see, or feel pollution, but mostly we don’t know what we’re breathing

Where does air pollution come from?

  • Transportation: cars, trucks, and trains
  • Industry: factories, asphalt plants, construction equipment and diesel vehicles
  • Natural sources: smoke from wildfires, dust blown by the wind
  • In Chicago, city policies put pollution in communities of color and low-income communities.
  • This practice is called environmental racism
  • These new air monitors are part of an contract signed by the city promising to address environmental racism

How bad is it for your health?

  • It makes existing health problems worse
  • It causes new health problems, like asthma, headaches, and chest pain
  • The combined effect of of outdoor air pollution and indoor air pollution kills about 6.7 million people around the world every year.

How is air pollution measured?

  • Different sensors detect different types of air pollution. Most air monitors measure one or two
  • The most common air monitors measure particulate matter (PM 2.5), a mixture of the tiny things that get into your lungs when you breathe
  • PM 2.5 is counted in micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m³)

How can you tell when the air quality is bad?

  • There is no safe level of air pollution
  • To make air quality easier to understand, the US EPA uses PM2.5 readings to calculate the Air Quality Index (AQI)
  • AQI is a scale that goes from zero (no pollution) to 500 (extremely high amounts of pollution)
  • People from “sensitive groups” (children, the elderly, or people with heart and lung conditions) should often stay inside if the AQI is high

What will happen to the suggestions people submit?

Neighbors For Environmental Justice (N4EJ) is collecting this data.

Suggestions are public as soon as they are submitted (you can see them on the 'Explore the data' page). N4EJ will share them with the Department of Public Health, which has the final say on where monitors are installed.

Who is this tool for? Do I have to be part of N4EJ to use it or share it?

This tool is for everyone! You don't have to be part of N4EJ to suggest air monitor locations, or to share this with others. This is just a way for people to learn about their neighborhood and offer feedback.

If you have questions or ideas and want to get in touch, email us at info@n4ej.org

When will the monitors go up?

We don't really know.

As of January 2025, the city has signed contracts with a non-profit called the Illinois Public Health Initiative to "help coordinate community engagement and identify members for an advisory group to inform sensor placement."

Currently the city's plan is:

  1. The non-profit will suggest members of an advisory group
  2. The group will advise the city on taking community input and placing sensors
  3. The city will ask people where monitors should go
  4. The city will decide where to put the sensors
  5. Then they can start putting them up.

However, the city staffer coordinating the project was asked to resign in November. Nobody has been hired to replace him, and his projects have not been reassigned to any one staff member.

Instead of waiting for the city to act, N4EJ built this tool and we are taking suggestions now.

Why is the city installing air monitors?

The air monitors are required by a federal agreement the city signed in 2023.

How is N4EJ involved?

N4EJ is a member of the city's Environmental Equity Working Group. We helped to complete the city's Cumulative Impacts Assessment and co-chaired the assessment's Communications & Engagement Working Group.

It has been challenging to work with the city because Chicago has a long history of environmental racism, and of making promises it does not keep. But we believe these projects are important, and we are committed to seeing them happen. We are also determined to hold the city to its promises.

Will this make the air better?

Data by itself is never enough to change things. Change takes people, and we need your help! Talk with people you know, help us pressure the city and state, and together we can make the air cleaner and safer for everyone.


                      

                        

                          
                          

                            

                              
This data was compiled by the Chicago Department of Public Health for the city's 2023 Cumulative Impacts Assessment.

                              

                                This summary explains how the EJ Index Score was calculated. Read more about the data they used, or download a copy.
                              

                              Download suggested locations