RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Chicago Sun-Times — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 1 sources
The city of Chicago and the Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul are suing Pullman Innovations, according to a joint statement from the attorney general and mayor’s office.
According to the lawsuit, the smells coming from Pullman Innovations’ vegetable oil plant have forced schools nearby to cancel recess and homeowners to stay inside with their windows shut, among other issues.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency had referred the matter after the plant's owners "allowed excessive odors, caused illegal air pollution, constructed a boiler without a permit that could cause or contribute to air pollution, and violated certain conditions of the operating permit at its Chicago facility," the offices said.
In 2024, city inspectors corroborated the overbearing odor . Pullman Innovations at 100th Street and Torrence Avenue was featured in a 2023 Sun-Times investigation that found city citations were doing little to thwart polluters across Chicago.
“Residents in the community surrounding the Pullman Innovations facility should be able to enjoy their lives and homes without having to endure the foul odors coming from the company’s operations,” Raoul said in a statement. “The company needs to address the odor issues and air pollution and ensure that its operations comply with Illinois’ environmental laws.”
Pullman Innovations didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The complaints go back years, as do inquiries by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Chicago Department of Public Health.
City inspectors described the entrance of the facility as having a “very strong odor that could best be described as rotting fish/decay of flesh” that made them “not want to breathe and made us nauseous,” according to a fall 2024 city report.
Some residents previously told the Sun-Times they thought the issue would stop when A-F Acquisition LLC took over the plant in 2016. Its previous owner, Agri-Fine, was sued by then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan after receiving being cited for several of its own violations.
In December, around 2,400 households full of people who have lived near the plant since 2018 were sent notice of a class action lawsuit seeking an undetermined cash settlement over the putrid smells.
“When entities fail to act on City compliance mandates, we will use every tool available to us to ensure our residents are not subjected to environmental degradation,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement issued Wednesday.
Related
Polluters like Southeast Side plant often get a pass on air-quality violations in Chicago, Sun-Times finds
Putrid smells from South Side plant enrage neighbors
Southeast Side residents face Friday deadline for lawsuit over horrible smells
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.