A Cook County Circuit Court judge this week ordered Pullman Innovations to cease its “odor-causing operations” until it comes into compliance with environmental law.
The ruling came two months after the city of Chicago and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a lawsuit against Pullman Innovations, which converts a by-product of commercial edible oil into animal feed ingredients at the Southeast Side plant. The suit was based on a referral from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
The filing alleges that the company allowed excessive odors, caused illegal air pollution and failed to operate pollution control devices, in addition to other infractions at its facility in Chicago’s South Deering neighborhood.
Since Pullman Innovations began operating a decade ago, neighbors have lodged hundreds of complaints describing noxious odors they described as smelling like rotten eggs, stinking fish, fresh vomit, sewage, garbage and decaying animals, among others. In the lawsuit, the smells are collectively called “Pullman Odors.”
These “Pullman Odors” have made it difficult for people to breathe, caused headaches and nausea, and made people feel like prisoners in their own homes, the lawsuit stated.
“We cannot go outside. We cannot walk our child to school. We cannot even have a barbecue and invite people over, we are embarrassed," Ald. Peter Chico (10th Ward) previously told WTTW News.
While investigating complaints, inspectors from the city and the state have said the odors made them want to gag.
“It took years of fighting before the city and state believed how horrible the smells were coming from this facility,” said Cheryl Johnson, executive director of People for Community Recovery, in a statement. “They should have been shut down years ago and they shouldn’t come back.”
The temporary restraining order against Pullman Innovations runs until Jan. 14, 2027, when the next hearing in the case is scheduled, or until the facility addresses the excessive odors.
In a statement, Raoul said he was pleased the community would “finally have some relief from the foul odors that were interrupting their lives and harming their ability to enjoy their homes and neighborhood activities.”
He credited community members for providing the documentation his office needed to support its case, by tracking and logging odors and providing affidavits for the motion.
At the Jan. 14 hearing, the court is expected to consider the city and Raoul’s timeline for Pullman Innovations to submit and carry out a remediation plan.
Contact Patty Wetli: pwetli@wttw.com
