Vallas, Johnson commit to resurrecting Department of Environment at forum on Southwest Side

Members of the crowd raise green cards in the air to show their support of what Chicago mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson is saying during his closing speech at a mayoral forum Monday at Lincoln United Methodist Church in Pilsen. Both Johnson and Paul Vallas vowed to re-launch the shuttered city Department of Environment. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times)

Mayoral candidates Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson both pledged to reestablish Chicago’s Department of Environment if elected to help address pollution in the city and particularly on the hard-hit South and Southwest sides.

The two made that commitment at a forum on environmental issues at Lincoln United Methodist Church, 2242 S. Damen Ave., in Pilsen. Hundreds packed the small church for the event, which was organized by the Southwest Environmental Alliance.