Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a motion Thursday to halt operations at a Southeast Side plant accused of emitting bad odors into the surrounding neighborhood, according to a news release.
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Raoul and the city of Chicago in August sued Pullman Innovations, a facility in South Deering that manufactures ingredients used in animal feed, for excessive odors, illegal air pollution, construction of a boiler without a permit and violations of certain conditions of the operating permit at its Chicago facility, according to a previous news release.
Nearby resident Oscar Ortega told the Tribune in August that ever since changing ownership, odors from the plant made it difficult to go outside.
The Southeast Side has long dealt with industrial pollution and environmental justice issues.
The motion for a temporary restraining order aims to stop operations at the plant while a motion for a preliminary injunction would require the company to address the odors and violations of environmental law and its operating permit.
“The foul odors from the Pullman Innovations facility are hurting this community and interrupting the lives of nearby residents who deserve to enjoy their homes and neighborhood activities in peace,” Raoul said in a statement on Thursday announcing the filings.
Pullman Innovations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A large portion of South Deering has an environmental justice index score of 98.6 on a scale that maxes out at 100, according to a map on the Chicago Health Atlas, a database created by the Chicago Department of Public Health and the University of Illinois Chicago. The composite score of cumulative impacts reflects communities in Chicago that are most burdened by pollution and most vulnerable to its effects.
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