Calling the proposed $300 million Robbins incinerator a “potential tragedy,” members of the board of Blue Island Elementary School District 130 are calling on the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to halt the project.
In a letter mailed to IEPA Director Mary Gade last week, six board members of District 130, which includes Robbins, Alsip, Blue Island and Crestwood, argue that the jobs and money the project will bring in “could not possibly compensate for the detrimental effects on the health of the young people.”
Steven Heckler, president of the school board, said Thursday that the letter may have little power to stop what he calls a “done deal.”
But he said that he hopes the letter, similar to one sent earlier by Blue Island District 218, will at least motivate the agency to “set out strict rules and regulations” for the 1,600-ton-per-day burner.