WAUKEGAN – State Senator Adriane Johnson celebrates another win for community health initiatives with a $500,000 investment in an asthma mobile unit designed for Waukegan and North Chicago.

“Each step we take for the betterment of our community is a step in the right direction,” said Johnson (D-Buffalo Grove). “It is my hope that together, we can provide the resources necessary for a healthier community.”

 The Christopher Redding Youth Asthma Foundation, founded in 2013, is managing the asthma van as they share a vision in serving the community with Senator Johnson. The Asthma Mobile Unit will provide asthma and allergy medicine to Lake County, concentrating on Waukegan and North Chicago. They will service families and youth living with asthma, with an emphasis on lessening the potentially adverse health effects on asthmatic youth and young adults involved in athletics in underserved communities.

“Our environment directly affect our health,” said Johnson. “This is why leading initiatives to remove coal combustion residual (CCR) in our communities go hand in hand with our new mobile asthma unit.”

Johnson spearheaded Senate Bill 1578 earlier this year that will require the CCR stored in ponds at the Waukegan Generating Station to be removed off-site pursuant to the existing removal requirements outlined under the Environmental Protection Act.

She is also leading House Bill 2278 to bring the state up to national standards as it pertains to the creation of environmental covenants. The measure would protect the health of the community and the environment by establishing land use restrictions. 

Measures like these and the asthma mobile unit will provide solutions to environmental issues faced by the community while also targeting the root causes of respiratory health issues like asthma.