Activists Want Mayor Lori Lightfoot To Force Developer Out Of Little Village After Smokestack Demolition Blankets Neighborhood In Dust
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Community activists and elected officials in Little Village and North Lawndale are demanding changes from the Lightfoot administration, days after the demolition of a power plant smokestack blanketed nearby homes in dust.
The old Crawford Generating Station still stands near 35th and Pulaski, but the giant smokestack that came down on Saturday is what has some in the neighboring communities calling for Mayor Lori Lightfoot to be held accountable.
Saturday morning, crews from Hilco Redevelopment Partners performed a scheduled implosion of the smokestack. The demolition created a huge cloud of dust that went billowing through the nearby neighborhood.
Lightfoot has said the developer was supposed to use high-powered water cannons to spray down the smokestack to prevent dust from blowing onto nearby homes, but they apparently failed to do so.
On Thursday, a group of activists, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), and a handful of Cook County commissioners and state lawmakers blasted the mayor for allowing the demolition in the first place.
They said the incident was not just a demolition gone wrong, but another sign of environmental racism.
RELATED: Little Village Residents Ask 'Why Now' For Smokestack Demolition During COVID-19 Pandemic
Lightfoot has issued a stop-work order for any further demolition activities at the Crawford power plant, but a group of community organizations dubbed the "Right to Recovery" coalition is criticizing the mayor, saying it was her Buildings Department that approved the demolition during a respiratory pandemic.
The coalition said the demolition shouldn't have happened at a time when neighborhood residents are already concerned about air quality due to COVID-19. Not only are they demanding the developer be kicked out of Little Village, they want a North Side scrap yard and a McKinley Park asphalt plant shut down.
"We're calling on the mayor to use her power to force Hilco to vacate Little Village. We are calling on the mayor to close General Iron once and for all. We are calling on the mayor to close MAT Asphalt once and for all. We are calling on the mayor to break with the past, and redesign a community development system that truly benefits black and brown communities," said Kimberly Wasserman, executive director of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization.
The mayor has said Hilco is paying to clean up the mess from the smokestack demolition, and will assess any damage to the neighborhood.
Local activists also want to city to put up air monitors to ensure the demolition isn't pushing pollution into the neighborhood.
Later on Thursday, a law firm plans to file a lawsuit against Hilco and the other companies involved in the demolition.