Press Conference – Funeral for Mother Earth

Thursday morning (3/5/2020) SOIL and its allies held a press conference to draw attention to the legal hearing about to begin in the ICC offices. Representatives from Save Our Illinois Land and the Sierra Club Illinois Chapter joined local advocates at a press conference to speak out against the proposed pipeline expansion.

Deni Mathews, Save Our Illinois Land: “We can no longer tolerate business as usual – by this appointed commission or by any elected official. Every decision made on behalf of the people of this state must consider the impact on climate change above all else.”

Sam Beard, Conservation Organizer, Sierra Club: “This much is clear: to vote to approve to double DAPL, to vote to literally double down on the unconscionably obscene extraction operations and double down on the carbon emissions that come along with it, would be to turn your back on your children, and on your people—it would be to say to them that you don’t care about their future, because you have chosen to side with forces that are destroying it.”

Jennifer Thompson, Native activist and Save Our Illinois Land board member: “This very spot where we are standing is Indigenous land. The native tribes that were here are no longer in Illinois. We have no reservations. Does that mean that the earth is no longer sacred because the land is now owned by others? No. We fight to protect the land because it is the right thing to do. Increasing the flow of the Dakota Access pipeline will increase our risk of contamination to our wildlife, land, and water supply.” 

Bella Hubbard, founding member of E-town Sunrise, Evanston: “It is surreal and deeply disillusioning for us (the youth) to see the science, to see the disasters and their effects, and to see people in power do nothing.”

Chicago media coverage:

Chicago Tribune coverage by Patrick O’Connell
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/environment/ct-dakota-access-pipeline-illinois-commerce-commission-20200305-ws6fukbvx5fgpinwmlpcudzqhy-story.html and https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-viz-dakota-access-pipeline-expansion-protest-20200305-ibdpavebdzdgllpwjdzwaxjb5a-photogallery.html

WBEZ coverage by Jerome McDonnell
https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/state-hearings-on-dakota-pipeline-expansion-draw-supporters-protesters/676bbc24-7064-44e4-827a-b239104b88a5

WTTW coverage by Patti Wetli
https://news.wttw.com/2020/03/06/all-eyes-illinois-commerce-commission-pipeline-expansion-finally-gets-hearing


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