Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered Chicago's building department to stop any non-emergency demolitions this week after the April 11 demolition at the Crawford Coal Plant ( by Northbrook-based Hilco Redevelopment Partners ) sent a cloud of dust into the Little Village neighborhood, The Chicago Tribune reported.
On April 12, city workers started handing out masks to residents near the plant located 3501 S. Pulaski Rd. The site had been shuttered since 2012, after activists contended the plant symbolized environmental racism.
The demolition happened as officials are trying to contain COVID-19. The neighborhood near the plant has already had at least 268 people fall ill with the respiratory illness.
The developers were cited by the city and will not be allowed to continue working on the property until the city conducts an investigation into the demolition, Lightfoot said. In addition, she ordered the company to clean the areas covered with dust.
On April 12, Windy City Times received a release from a group of aldermen who criticized air pollution from what they call non-essential industry—and who want the City of Chicago inspector general to investigate the Crawford Coal Plant demolition.
The officials are Alds. Daniel LaSpata ( 1st Ward ), Byron Sigcho-Lopez ( 25th ), Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez ( 33rd ) and Carlos Ramirez-Rosa ( 35th ). According to the aldermen, "Over the weekend, the Mayor's Office put out a statement calling the approved demolition 'scheduled' and referring to it as an 'incident.' Community leaders, including the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization ( LVEJO ), begged the city not to allow the demolition during the COVID-19 crisis but the city still allowed the demolition."
Also, according to the statement, Sigcho-Lopez, Ald. Brian Hopkins ( 2nd Ward ), state Reps. Ann Williams ( D-Chicago ) and Theresa Mah ( D-Chicago ), state Sen.Tony Munoz ( D-Chicago ) and Cook County Commissioner Alma Anaya—along with Southwest Environmental Alliance and public health experts—sent letters March 31 to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Lightfoot. They asked them to stop air polluters from increasing the likelihood of COVID-19 exposure for workers and their families, and threatening the already vulnerable health of surrounding communities.
The Tribune article is at www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-little-village-crawford-coal-demolition-20200412-skea74h6fjdvzlupwl5ibwgv3i-story.html .
