Lake Effect: Two Sisters and a Town's Toxic Legacy Book

A must read for anyone who lives in Lake Or Cook County Illinois or Kenosha or Racine Wisconsin.

Kudos to Nancy Nichols for the amazing research and putting the pieces of this horrific tragedy together and documenting it.

My mother, a third generation born and raised Waukeganite mourned the destruction of her beloved town until her death from lung cancer. Waukegan, as she always said was used up by the big companies and then thrown away. They all disappeared, leaving behind economic devastation for thousands of displaced workers and countless people poisoned into illness and finally death. My grandfather, a long time employee of Johns Manville died a painful death from Mesothelioma, while my mother held his hand. Three generations later, we know the poison still exists and Waukegan is about as poor of a community as there is.

Growing up myself in the community just north of Waukegan in the 70's and 80's, I've seen the final, steady decline of Waukegan. It's obvious it was once a beautiful and bountiful community. As Ms Nichols bravely pointed out, has become a haven for impoverished families and undocumented minorities. Housing is extremely cheap, crime is out of control and the school system overburdened and broke. These are all the result of the poisoning of the once beautiful county seat.

Growing up in this area, it was impossible not to know lots of people displaced by the closing of these plants. Often whole families were employed by OMC or Johns Manville and once their doors closed, these families were wrecked. No insurance to manage their wide array of illnesses. No pension. No skills to work anywhere else - Some too old or sick to work. No money left to live the life of financial security some had planned and worked for their entire lives to only grow old in poverty and often illness.

Thank you Ms Nichols for revealing the truth. I'd heard bits and pieces my whole life, but never had the big picture. I mourn the loss of your sister. I will hold my sister closer when I hug her because she was able to win her battle with cancer she was diagnosed with at the young age of 19. Though she still has a wide array of "mysterious" illnesses, she's thankfully still in remission 30+ years later.