Editor’s Note: The following article was written by a youth reporter who is a graduate of the Urban Youth International Journalism Program.

On Aug. 5, I interviewed 3rd Ward Alderman Pat Dowell. The office was very busy. Dowell works with the residents in the ward to get their voices heard and have a better community. Many concerned residents were there to voice their concerns about the situations in their neighborhoods.

Residents' Journal youth reporter Jasmine Hunt interview Chicago Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd Ward) about pollution issues for the NUFF Said project, in September 2010. Photo by Quintana Woodridge

Read more »

Click on the image to view the third episode of this season’s “RJ TV,” on August 2, 2010.

Watch Residents’ Journal Youth Project Director Quintana Woodridge’s discussion with RJ young adult reporter Jasmine Hunt about participation in the Chicago Youth Voices Network’s “Nuf SAID” project, where Hunt and other youth reporters surveyed their peers across the city of Chicago in March 2010, about issues of education, crime, violence, health and the environment, housing and homelessness, jobs and employment issues.

The two RJ reporters also discussed Hunt’s scheduled interview with 3rd Ward Ald. Pat Dowell regarding pollution, an upcoming article on school violence by another youth reporter, and they also discussed a “Youth Truth” video produced by the Nuf SAID group in July 2010.

An Altgeld Gardens resident and longtime environmental activist says residents of other public housing developments should be concerned about potential health hazards from the demolition and redevelopment of their communities.