A federal judge in Illinois has refused to halt city permits for a contested metal recycling plant slated to be built in a pollution-burdened neighborhood in South Chicago. Judge Mary Rowland of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said Wednesday that Chicago residents couldn't prove discrimination was involved in the decision to move a General Iron shredding facility from North Chicago to their neighborhood on the Southeast Side. Residents Pastor Richard Martinez, Jocelyn Rangel and Roni-Nicole Facen wanted an injunction to freeze the permits that would give the plant the greenlight to relocate to their community. Rowland said the court shares concerns about the pollution burdens of marginalized communities. But she couldn't find evidence of intentional discrimination at either the permit zoning hearings or the city's 2020 rules on recycling facilities. "Considering existing precedent, Plaintiffs have not met their burden to show how they will prove the key elements of their case," she continued.
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