Smells from a South Side processing plant that makes an ingredient for animal feed is infuriating neighbors despite company promises and city assurances over several years that the problem is being resolved.
Pullman Innovations at 100th Street and Torrence Avenue was a focus of a Sun-Times investigation in early 2023 that found that city citations were doing little to thwart polluters across Chicago.
As recently as late October, city inspectors were called to the location, and even they described unbearable odors around the plant.
“Near the entrance of the facility, we experienced a very strong odor that could best be described as rotting fish/decay of flesh. This odor made us not want to breathe and made us nauseous,” inspectors said in their report.
Ald. Peter Chico (10th) said that he alerted both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Chicago Department of Public Health about the nuisance after getting complaints from residents. Chico said he asked for an investigation and contacted company officials.
“It’s unbearable,” Chico told the Sun-Times. “You can’t even take your dog for a walk or keep your windows open.”
Acknowledging that it’s been a longtime concern, Chico said dozens of recent complaints convinced him that “it got to a tipping point. Enough is enough.”
Pullman Innovations representatives didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Anna Johnson, a South Deering resident who lives near the plant, said in an interview Tuesday that the odor has been persistent and was particularly bad earlier this week.
“I had to close my windows because the odor was so bad,” she said. “It was like someone dumped feces on my front yard.”
The Sun-Times examined trends with city inspections records in 2023 with the help of Anthony Moser, a member of the advocacy group Neighbors for Environmental Justice. Moser released an independent report of his findings.
The recent uproar over Pullman Innovations shows a weakness in the city’s environmental enforcement, he said.
“The city has no real strategy for companies that keep polluting and don’t get better. Some of these factories have gotten complaints and citations for decades,” Moser said. The city is “always ‘working to bring them into compliance’ but they never get there.”
The city’s health department, which is responsible for environmental investigations and enforcement defended its record and said it “has been working to address community concerns related to Pullman Innovations for many years.”
In a statement, the health department said that it “has also been working with the [Pullman] facility to determine what new odor-reducing control equipment can be used.”
In its own statement, EPA officials said they are “aware of the odor complaints in this area. EPA is currently working with the company to ensure compliance with environmental regulations.”