LITTLE VILLAGE — A federal court has preliminarily approved a $12.25 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit against Hilco Redevelopment over the implosion that blanketed Little Village in dust at the start of the pandemic.
The settlement, reached last month in U.S. District Court, applies to anyone who was within the boundary shown below on April 11, 2020, which was the day of the demolition. It generally covers the neighborhood of Little Village, between Cermak Road, California Avenue, 33rd Street and Kilbourn Avenue.
It’s also applicable to anyone who owned or leased property or a business in the area that received particulate matter that day, according to the settlement.
The lawsuit was filed in 2020 by residents Antonio Solis, Jose Solis and Juan Rangel, according to the original complaint.
The implosion occurred at the site of the old Crawford Coal Plant, 3501 S. Pulaski Road.
The plaintiffs alleged the demolition sent “a plume of toxic debris and particulate matter across the neighborhood,” and Hilco acted with a “blatant disregard for the safety of the community” and “in violation of the rules, regulations, and customs governing the safe demolition and disposal of industrial sites.”
Hilco denies it violated the law and the allegations in the original lawsuit, according to the settlement agreement notice. The settlement is intended to end the lawsuit and avoid the uncertainties and costs of a trial, according to the notice. Anyone who opts in to the payout can’t sue Hilco in a separate legal action.
Hilco Redevelopment couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Anyone interested in being included in the settlement payout can file a claim here. It must be submitted before March 26.
More details on eligibility and the claim process can be found on the settlement’s website.
The April 2020 implosion has been a flashpoint in the fight over environmental racism on the Southwest Side over the past several years.
Activists begged the city to halt the demolition in 2020 due to it coinciding with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it went on, covering Little Village homes in dust. Hilco Redevelopment Partners was slapped with $68,000 in fines for the mishap and was forced to pay an additional $370,000 in a settlement with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
Hilco eventually opened a Target distribution center at the site in July 2021, despite protests by community members. In 2022, Hilco announced plans to build a fleet storage yard next to the warehouse.
Last year, a leaked report from the city’s former inspector general into the botched implosion revealed city officials knew the potential consequences well in advance and didn’t do enough to stop it.
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