Chicago’s Deadliest Problem Isn’t Guns — It’s the Air
By Antonio In a city haunted by headlines about gun violence and political corruption, another killer moves silently — and no one’s talking about it. On the South Side of Chicago, 12-year-old Malik Foster doesn’t fear bullets. He fears air. Malik was diagnosed with asthma at just five years old. On hot, hazy days, when the sky turns a strange shade of gray and the air feels heavier than usual, he’s stuck inside. Playing basketball or riding his bike could land him in the ER — again. His mother, Keisha, keeps a rescue inhaler in her purse at all times. One for Malik. One for herself. “We don’t need a weather app to know it’s bad,” she says. “We feel it in our lungs.” While shootings dominate news coverage, air pollution is quietly and consistently killing Chicagoans — especially in Black and Latino neighborhoods. According to the American Lung Association, Chicago ranks among the worst U.S. cities for ozone pollution. But the burden isn’t shared equally. Communities like Englewood, Lit...