Communitty activist Oscar Sanchez to seek City Council seat in Chicago’s 10th Ward | State | #citycouncil

The 10th Ward covers all or part of the South Deering, East Side, Hegewisch, South Chicago and Calumet Heights community areas on the Far Southeast Side.

In a news release last Wednesday, Sanchez said, “I promise to put 10th Ward residents first and work to ensure the Southeast Side is a thriving community whose needs are met and heard at City Hall.”

A lifelong resident of the Southeast Side, Sanchez co-founded the Southeast Youth Alliance and the Southeast Response Collective.

The former is “an organization committed to establishing an inclusive environment for youth to come together and expand perspectives in their community,” while the latter was launched at the outset of the pandemic to aid residents with COVID-related issues.

Sanchez was one of the leaders in the successful fight to prevent General Iron’s metal recycling facility from relocating from the North Side’s Lincoln Park neighborhood to a site near Washington High School in the 10th Ward.

He took part in a 30-day hunger strike last year meant to draw attention to the issue and get the city to deny General Iron’s owner an operating permit for the new facility.

“It’s time environmental injustice stops being served as a path toward jobs and neighborhood development when it’s paved with toxic air and health issues experienced across generations,” Sanchez said in the news release. “(Tenth) Ward residents deserve better, and as a 10th Ward resident, and Alderperson, I will fight hard to make our collective reality better.”