After learning that the second highest concentration of people with cancer in all of Sangamon county reside in the zipcode* encompassing the Pillsbury Mill I was absolutely floored by the data. This property is a public health crisis within our community.

The sheer lack of corporate responsibility companies are held accountable for as they were allowed to profit for years and then leave the burden of cleaning up hazardous and dangerous materials upon the community. This is not an isolated incident as many cities in our state are in similar situations.

A little background on the site: The Old Pillsbury plant at 15th and East Phillips Street has been vacant since 2001. From 2008 to 2014 the plant was sold for scrap. Two separate scrap/demolition companies removed large amounts of equipment and began an urban mining operation to harvest the abundance of valuable metals at the site.
In October of 2014 the scrap operation was caught cutting corners and not following prescribed laws related to asbestos removal. The Illinois EPA became involved and documented serious violations. The site was sealed, the USEPA investigated, and eventually the site was largely cleared of hazardous materials by the USEPA from January to October 2017.

Since then progress has been made in these areas:

• Over 70 members of the community were at a recent meeting including city leaders, organizers and legal counsel.
• City has installed LED lights around the perimeter of the location after going years without any – this will help deter trespassing into the dangerous site.
• Raising awareness about the issue and dangers of the property riddled with asbestos, lead and other harmful chemicals left as fossil of a previous industry that left the burden of the property for the community to deal with.
• Over a thousand updated flyers to promote awareness of the issue have been handed out in the surrounding neighborhood and community.
• A website has been built to document the mission and progress at Moving Pillsbury Forward: 

  https://movepillsburyforward.wixsite.com/movepillsburyforward

  
  

What’s next?

February 25, 2020
City Council Talk
Chris Richmond & Mary Frances
Tuesday – 5:30 PM
Municipal Building
800 East Monroe
3rd Floor

Move Pillsbury Forward is looking for support by people -- join in by being present in seats to show city leadership that the movement is important to everyone.

Saturday March 7th, 2020
Pillsbury Mills Neighborhood Cleanup
9 am – Noon
1525 East Phillips
Corner of 15th and East Phillips
**Krispy Crème Donuts and Coffee Provided**
Wear Heavy Shoes and Gloves
Some Tools will be provided

We will be cleaning up the entire perimeter of the property from trash to plant overgrowth, and would love help and involvement from anyone within the greater community.

*Illinois Department of Public Health shows that 62702, which is the zip code where the Pillsbury plant is located, has the second highest cancer rate from 1992 to 2016 compared to the other zip codes in Springfield

Author: Nick Dodson

Nick Dodson is a local organizer, activist and Sierra Club Member that cares deeply about the Springfield CommUNITY, our environment and believes in the importance social equity. Elizabeth Scrafford introduced Nick to “Moving Pillsbury Forward” in October of 2019 and after attending a community meeting he saw how important MPF’s mission is. If you’re unfamiliar, Moving Pillsbury Forward is a group of community volunteers with the objective of providing leadership and support in redevelopment of the Pillsbury property for the health of the Pillsbury neighborhood and the overall well-being of the greater Springfield, Illinois community.

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