Little Village Residents Ask 'Why Now' For Smokestack Demolition During COVID-19 Pandemic
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A giant cloud of dust covered the sky from a demolition spread over Chicago's Little Village on Saturday.
The fallout intensified two days later with demands for action and answers.
CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports from Little Village where the dust is gone, washed away in most places by the rain.
But the anger lingers in Little Village where residents already worried about COVID-19 now are worried about what they may have breathed in on the morning of Holy Saturday.
Representatives from Hilco Redevelopment Partners were going door-to-door Monday in Little Village to listen to the concerns of residents. Concerns stemming from the company's controlled implosion Saturday morning, which brought down a towering smokestack.
But while the blast was controlled, the aftermath was not.
"It looked smoky. It was very dense," said Little Village resident Diana Vargas. She talked about the cloud of dust that quickly spread around her house after the smokestack chimney came down.
While part of the dust cloud rose into the sky, enough blew onto Springfield Avenue and other streets to horrify Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who lashed out at the company for a second straight day.
"They own this and they have to mitigate the harm that has been done," she said. "They clearly failed to follow steps and they will be held accountable."
But Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) is concerned Hilco won't be held accountable. That's why he's calling for an inspector general's investigation. When asked if an investigation will find that Lightfoot made a mistake, he said...
"That's something that the IG will have to determine," he said.
"If the aldermen want to have the inspector general engaged, have at it. But I am not going to wait for an inspector general report," Lightfoot said.
Angel Sosa said the implosion was a surprise to most residents in his community. So seeing Hilco representatives go door-to-door meant little to this 25-year-old.
"Why now," Sosa asked. "You could've done things to inform us ahead of time instead of waiting to the aftermath."
"It is too little too late. What's done is done. It happened already," Diana Vargas added.
Sigcho-Lopez wants the inspector general to find out what type of chemicals were in the dust cloud and why the permit was granted during the time of COVID-19.
"Why was a permit of an implosion was given during a pandemic in the first place," he asked. Sigcho-Lopez added that late last year a worker died at the site.
That death is under investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA.)
CBS 2 reached out to the company for comment Monday. The company confirmed it was passing out flyers throughout the neighborhood and that it is cooperating with the investigation.
