The city’s “negligence and incompetence” allowed a demolition dust storm to blanket Little Village in 2020, according to a scathing watchdog report that also berated City Hall for its response to the debacle.
In a statement Tuesday, City Hall officials didn’t defend steps leading up to the event but said they acted "swiftly and decisively" afterward and took measures to prevent future problems with demolitions.The coal plant was being demolished by Hilco to make way for a 1 million-square-foot distribution warehouse for Target. Community members opposed the project, saying a warehouse drawing hundreds of diesel trucks a day was replacing one source of pollution with another.
The report notes that initially, the plan for demolition involved no implosion. And yet, once the plan was changed, a new permit wasn’t required. "Hopkins and Herrera continually sought to minimize their role in the implosion process, despite conducting the bulk of coordination with Hilco in planning the city’s involvement," the report said.
Hopkins was promoted months after the Little Village incident and was not disciplined. Herrera, then the chief building inspector, also was not disciplined. Ferguson’s report also criticized the Lightfoot administration’s haste in assessing penalties against Hilco and its contractors, which paid a combined $68,000 and admitted no wrongdoing in the matter. Hilco paid less than a third of the amount.
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