Equity Legal Services is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal organization committed to racial equity, environmental equity, and social justice. Founded by Nicole Nelson in 2018, ELS serves the citizens of Cahokia Heights, Illinois, and surrounding areas—underprivileged and deliberately neglected communities of color that for decades have been afflicted by stormwater flooding and sewage overflows into their homes, neighborhoods, and drinking water supplies. These flood events have been exacerbated by climate change, but stem primarily from these communities’ 60-year-old sewer and stormwater systems that local governments have neglected to maintain. ELS provides these communities with legal assistance, environmental and policy advocacy, and community organizing resources, helping residents hold their governments accountable for this environmental and public health crisis. The only legal organization in the region providing impact litigation at no cost, ELS is working to ensure that the citizens of Cahokia Heights and surrounding areas no longer suffer from these environmental and structural poverty issues.
Residents of Cahokia Heights, Illinois, navigate flooded streets by boat. Photo: Equity Legal Services
A woman of color-led nonprofit with five staff members, Equity Legal Services is a small legal organization making a massive impact in the Midwest. Since 2018, ELS has worked closely with the citizens of Cahokia Heights (formerly known as Centreville, Illinois), helping them form their own nonprofit group, Centreville Citizens for Change. In 2022, ELS partnered with scientists from Washington University and Williams College to conduct drinking water testing in Cahokia Heights, revealing that flooding and sewage overflows are contaminating drinking water supplies and harming local residents’ health. ELS has also partnered with Earthjustice to file a Clean Water Act suit against the city of Cahokia Heights. The lawsuit is ongoing, but has already resulted in millions of dollars in infrastructure funding for the community and forced action from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Illinois state government, pressuring them to address Cahokia Heights’ outdated sewer and stormwater systems to provide the city’s residents with clean water, safe homes, and a healthy future.
Cahokia Heights residents struggle with sewage and stormwater flooding their homes and neighborhoods. Photo: Equity Legal Services