Getting the lead out of Illinois homes
A fixture of news headlines in recent times, lead poisoning in children can cause learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and—at extraordinarily high levels—it can lead to seizures or death. When Anita Weinberg of Loyola’s ChildLaw Center began to investigate the subject in 1999, Chicago and Illinois had much higher numbers of lead-poisoned children than other cities and states. Since then, Weinberg has been a major force behind the inauguration of a program to provide significant funding for property owners to create lead-safe environments for children, and the city has made tremendous improvement. “The timing was great because the issue had started to gain national attention, and we were in a good position to push the city to address the problem.”
Weinberg worked with local and state organizations to advocate for the New Market Tax Credit Program, which took effect this fall. The act grants forgivable loans to property-owners who need to get rid of lead paint in homes built before the 1978 ban. Weinberg has brought together diverse groups of stakeholders, including property owners, insurance companies, contractors, parents, and health professionals to get the word out and move legislators to take action. “It only takes a fingernail full of lead dust to poison a child,” says Weinberg. “It affects their ability to learn and understand. It’s especially frustrating because it’s one of the learning and behavioral problems that we know how to solve. If we put the money and resources into it, it can disappear.”
In September, Loyola’s ChildLaw Center received a $125,000 grant from the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust to continue its focus on lead poisoning prevention. Thanks to Weinberg’s efforts and the efforts of partner organizations, childhood lead poisoning prevention is moving in the right direction. “This has been a true partnership, where people saw a need and worked together to do something about it,” Weinberg says. “Our focus is on preventing more children from being harmed.”