[VIDEO] Demo’d Smokestack Releases Clouds of Dust

April 13, 2020

Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood demo’d the Crawford Power Generating Station, a 95-year-old coal plant, sending clouds of dust particles into the air throughout the neighborhood.

On Saturday night, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city had issued an order halting work by Northbrook-based Hilco Redevelopment Partners, who leveled the concrete smokestack at the old plant as part of its plan to overhaul the site into a warehouse and distribution center. 

“For Hilco to prioritize demolition now, much less on Easter weekend, and for the city to feel like that’s OK, is another slap in the face to our neighborhood,” Kim Wasserman, executive director of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization told Chicago Sun-Times, who was notified about the planned implosion late Thursday.

On its website the company who demo’d the plant, Hilco, says before any demolition, the team conducts a thorough walkthrough and completes an evaluation of the structures to confirm all appropriate measures have been taken and the area is ready. A Hilco spokeswoman also told Block Club Chicago that tests showed no lead or asbestos in the smokestack. 

At a separate news conference shortly after the implosion, Lightfoot said it wasn't up to the city to change demolition plans. However, Wasserman said the city should have stepped in. Her group’s goal now is to halt further demolition at the site during the pandemic.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times