(The Center Square) – A Chicago environmentalist and professor says asthma and respiratory illnesses are on the rise, possibly because the Chicago Park District is cutting down mature trees.

Environmental groups are calling for Chicago Lakefront National Park to be designated a National Park amid the park district’s plans to cut down more trees for projects related to its Redefine the Drive program and the possible construction of Bears Stadium. Jeannette Hoyt said oxygen production from trees varies by tree size, and mature trees larger than 30 inches in diameter can produce more than 240 pounds of oxygen per year.

“The asthma rates in Chicago were mind-blowing to researchers before the trees were cut down for the Obama Presidential Center. We haven’t had an adequate asthma study since 2019 before the trees were cut down, and we don’t know what the air quality has been like,” Hoyt said.

Hoyt, who has a master’s degree in public health and has spent two years studying the rise of asthma and other respiratory diseases in Chicago, said one in two children on the Southside has asthma. Hoyt said that Chicago, as a “union city,” is constantly looking for things for workers to do.

“So that means tearing things down, redoing things, rebuilding things … maybe we should focus on houses, housing, roads. But that’s not sexy. Redefine the Drive is sexy, doing something on the lakefront is sexy, Bears Stadium is sexy,” Hoyt said.

Hoyt estimates that about 600 trees could be cut down if plans for the Redefine the Drive and Bears Stadium projects go ahead.

State Rep. Kam Bucker, whose district includes parts of Chicago’s South Lakefront and downtown, introduced a new bill that he said will “give DuSable Lake Shore Drive back to the people.”

HR0438, which passed in May, urges the Chicago Department of Transportation and the Illinois Department of Transportation to convert Du Sable Lake Shore Drive into what Buckner described as “a lakefront artery.” Hoyt explained that the mature trees, which sequester more carbon than young trees, will be destroyed if the project goes ahead as planned.

“There was a recent tree study that showed Chicago has 16 percent tree cover and New York has something like 22 percent, and we want to cut down more trees. Our asthma rates are so high here that researchers have been looking at it (the asthma rates) since before 2000,” Hoyt said.

The Redefine the Drive program will likely result in the destruction of mature trees, and Hoyt explained that mature trees trap harmful pollutants. One major air pollutant of concern is fine particulate matter (PM2.5). This pollutant has been linked to serious health effects and can increase a person’s risk of dementia.

“PM2.5 is a new visitor on the scene. We’re just beginning to quantify it and correlate it with health outcomes in people who breathe elevated levels of PM2.5. The research was only published this year because it spans 20 years of research and three different studies. The results are senile dementia, asthma and cancer,” Hoyt said.

The Obama Presidential Center resulted in the felling of 303 mature trees in Jackson Park; 612 trees had yet to be destroyed. Hoyt said the number of trees removed by Redefine the Drive will be more than Tiger Woods-Designed Golf Project Design plans to cut down, if their project goes ahead again.

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In 2016, then-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced plans to build a professional tournament course adjacent to the presidential library. Former President Barack Obama himself supported the project, even tapping Tiger Woods to design it.

However, the project has been delayed.