(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Progress on a winterized “base camp” site in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood has been halted as the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency considers the need for further remediation there, city officials said Monday.
The Johnson Administration last week said independent consultants had found toxic materials, including mercury and other metals, that exceeded state safety levels but that the site was safe after material was removed.
Now, city officials say the state EPA wants to evaluate the need for cleanup at a small section of the 9.5-acre property at 3710 S. California Ave.
“There is no construction or remediation scheduled at this time. The City will share assessment of subsequent remediation as it becomes available,” according to a news release from the Johnson Administration.
Neighborhood opponents of the planned migrant encampment have objected to the site partly because of its industrial history.
At one time, there was a zinc smelter on the site.
Mayor Johnson hopes to eventually open the winterized camp site to house up to 2,000 migrants and keep asylum seekers from having to take temporary shelter at police stations.
Also Monday, a court challenge to the Brighton Park migrant camp emerged. Some residents sought a temporary restraining order, but a chancery court judge denied the request after a city attorney said work at the site has been delayed.
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