(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — City health officials are expected to announce this week whether they will grant a permit for a controversial metal-shredding operation on the Southeast Side — a project opposed by local residents and activists.
At a news conference at City Hall on Wednesday, opponents said city officials didn’t allow much input from residents at a webinar the night before even as they conceded the operation proposed by Southside Recycling — once known as General Iron — presents pollution and safety concerns.
Cook County Commissioner Bridget Degnen, an environmental attorney, said the company’s past performance merits rejecting a permit.
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez the fight won’t end, even if the permit is approved. Sigcho-Lopez previously joined hunger strikers fighting the project. Opponents have said people of color would bear the brunt of the environmental impact.
General Iron had run the metal-shredding facility in Lincoln Park before setting sights on the new location.
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