The Gary Common Council unanimously approved two resolutions Tuesday night backing Medicare for All and urging U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel to invest in cleaner steelmaking technology at Gary Works.
The measures are symbolic and carry no legal force. Together, however, they add Gary’s voice to national debates over expanding healthcare coverage and modernizing one of the country’s largest steel mills.
One resolution urges Congress to pass the Medicare for All Act of 2025. The other urges U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel to invest in cleaner steelmaking technology at Gary Works.
Council member Darren Washington made it clear that the push started long before Tuesday’s vote.
“This all started with the Medicare for All group going to the Indiana Democratic Party, asking for Medicare for All to be a part of the platform,” Washington said. “We spent a lot of time reaching about 2,600 delegates at the convention this January, and we were able to get the signatures, but also get a member from the Resolutions Committee for the Indiana Democratic State Party’s convention.”
Washington said the resolution mirrors language Indiana Democrats adopted unanimously at their 2026 state convention, where several council members served as delegates.
“This is just the beginning,” he said.
During public comment, Gary resident Paul Cacha reminded council members that he made a presentation about a year ago outlining the financial benefits of Medicare for All.
“If the Medicare for All Act of 2025 was passed, it would bring huge savings to the city, but it would also bring huge savings to our country,” Cacha said. “It would cover anything that a doctor said you needed, whether it was drugs or procedures. It would cover you from cradle to grave.”
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, 33% of Gary residents live below the poverty line, which is triple the national rate. Nearly 19% of Gary residents are 65 or older, meaning almost 1 in 5 already relies on Medicare.
About 15.3% of city residents younger than 65 have a disability, compared with 10% statewide and 9% nationally.
The resolution adds Gary to a growing list of cities, including Chicago earlier this year, that have gone on record backing the bill as healthcare costs continue to climb nationally.
The council also unanimously approved a resolution urging U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel to direct future investments at Gary Works toward cleaner steelmaking technology, specifically direct reduced iron furnaces, rather than continuing to rely on aging blast furnaces.
Dorreen Carey, president of Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, applauded the vote.
“We support the council request to U.S. Steel and Nippon to use their investment dollars to transition to new cleaner direct iron furnaces at Gary Works,” Carey said, arguing the shift would make “Gary’s air cleaner [and] our community a healthier place to live,” while also protecting jobs and keeping the mill.
The resolution follows years of pressure from local environmental groups. An analysis by Industrious Labs found that 97% of people living within 3 miles of Gary Works are people of color, and nearly two-thirds are low-income, a profile advocates point to as a textbook case of environmental injustice. The Sierra Club has told Congress that steelmaking accounts for roughly 11% of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions nationwide and pollution linked to as many as 3,000 premature deaths a year.
Nippon has pledged $3.1 billion for upgrades at Gary Works since acquiring U.S. Steel in 2025, including about $300 million to reline Blast Furnace No. 14, extending the furnace’s life by roughly two decades.
Councilwoman Lori Latham previously called the relining a temporary fix, saying it signals the company may not be preparing to stay in Gary for the long term given how much of the city’s tax base the mill represents.
Gary resident Carolyn McGrady drew a sharper contrast during public comment, pointing to Nippon’s newer investments elsewhere.
In late April, U.S. Steel announced a $1.9 billion direct reduced iron facility at its Big River Steel Works in Osceola, Arkansas, calling it the first of its kind in the United States. It’s part of a broader $11 billion investment Nippon has pledged in U.S. Steel operations through 2028.
“U.S. Steel is building a new plant with all the new technology in Arkansas, but is keeping the blast furnace in Gary on life support,” McGrady said.
