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HISTORICAL FACTS: General iron - The Untold Story

Here are the photos that helped us tell this year’s stories

Sun-Times photographers captured the biggest storylines in the Chicago area. Here’s a look back at some of 2023’s best photos.

Chicago Sun-Times · Dec 28, 2023

City tells court Southeast Side metal shredder would harm residents, should not open

Southside Recycling, formerly General Iron, wants a judge to force the city to issue it an operating permit.

Chicago Sun-Times · Aug 24, 2023

Southeast Side metal shredder seeks judge’s order to open for business

Owner that bought General Iron says city should be forced to issue an operating permit.

Chicago Sun-Times · Jul 26, 2023

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Mayor Johnson appeals General Iron ruling in circuit court

An administrative hearings judge said in early June that a Southeast Side car-shredding operation should’ve gotten its permit.

Chicago Sun-Times · Jun 30, 2023

Judge overrules city denial of Southeast Side metal-shredder’s permit to operate

Mayor Brandon Johnson vows to appeal the ruling, defending the city’s decision to block Southside Recycling from opening on a site along the Calumet River.

Chicago Sun-Times · Jun 1, 2023

Negotiations over Biden administration claim that City Hall engaged in environmental racism are down to the wire

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and HUD are trying to work out a settlement before she leaves office. The agency found that Chicago relocates polluting businesses from white communities to Black and Latino neighborhoods.

Chicago Sun-Times · May 5, 2023

Pollution, public safety drive ward races in Southeast Side’s 10th, Southwest Side’s 12th

In the 10th, Yessenia Carreón, Peter Chico, Ana Guajardo, Óscar Sanchez and Jessica Venegas are running to succeed Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza. And in the 12th, newly appointed Ald. Anabel Abarca is challenged by Julia Ramirez.

Chicago Sun-Times · Feb 17, 2023

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Polluters like Southeast Side plant often get a pass on air-quality violations in Chicago, Sun-Times finds

Fewer than half of all citations written by Chicago city health inspectors in recent years for air pollution end up sticking, records show. That’s left neighbors of polluters unhappy.

Chicago Sun-Times · Feb 10, 2023

Fire at Sims scrap metal yard in Pilsen sparks anger among neighbors

Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez is concerned about a series of problems at the car-shredding operation. The fire started Saturday in a pile of scrap. No injuries were reported.

Chicago Sun-Times · Feb 6, 2023

Judge to decide fate of relocated General Iron’s Southeast Side operation by spring

The owner of the relocated, rebranded General Iron wants an administrative law judge to overturn the city’s decision to block the facility’s opening.

Chicago Sun-Times · Jan 31, 2023

City health official defends denial of Southeast Side metal shredder’s permit

A health department official says the city considered many issues, including air quality and health in the surrounding community, in nixing a scrap business along Calumet River.

Chicago Sun-Times · Jan 19, 2023

Illinois legislature passes assault weapon ban, a new tool for Metra riders and more in your Chicago news roundup

Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

Chicago Sun-Times · Jan 10, 2023

Chicago encouraged General Iron’s move to the Southeast Side, executive says

Both the Emanuel and Lightfoot administrations gave assurances that the metal shredder’s relocation was supported by the city, a company official testified Monday.

Chicago Sun-Times · Jan 10, 2023

General Iron owner says ‘smoking gun’ from Ald. Garza shows permit was wrongly denied

Garza provided internal city communications to the metal shredder’s owner that suggest the city was preparing to issue a draft permit in April 2021, lawyers say.

Chicago Sun-Times · Jan 6, 2023

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Chicago Sun-Times · Dec 19, 2022

How I report on Chicago’s ‘sacrifice zones’ — through the eyes of those who live in our most polluted neighborhoods

BRETT CHASE: As an environmental reporter, I dig for documents through open records requests and court filings, and I interview experts. But the most invaluable lessons come from spending time with families who say they just want clean air and a healthy place to live for their kids.

Chicago Sun-Times · Nov 11, 2022

Pilsen residents deserve to breathe easy after latest environmental scare

The EPA and Sims Metal must sort out the problems with air quality monitors so Pilsen residents get the vital and accurate air quality information to which they are entitled.

Chicago Sun-Times · Oct 20, 2022

Lightfoot, feds in talks over environmental racism probe

The move heads off a potential battle with federal housing officials who are calling for a change of zoning and land-use practices that they say put polluters in Chicago’s communities of color.

Chicago Sun-Times · Sep 29, 2022

General Iron lawyers say draft approval shows Lightfoot denial was wrong

Lawyers for the metal shredder’s owner will ask two city officials under oath why the Southeast Side business was not permitted to open.

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Chicago Sun-Times · Sep 23, 2022

Lightfoot disputes feds’ environmental racism claims, Sen. Emil Jones III pleads not guilty and more in your Chicago news roundup

Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

Chicago Sun-Times · Sep 23, 2022

Lightfoot to Biden administration on environmental racism claims: See you in court

“If a voluntary resolution can’t be reached, HUD may initiate administrative proceedings or refer this matter to the U.S. Department of Justice for enforcement,” the agency says.

Chicago Sun-Times · Sep 5, 2022

Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza won’t seek a third term

She was the first member of the Chicago Teachers Union to be elected to the City Council and the first woman to represent the 10th Ward — a position she’s held since 2015.

Chicago Sun-Times · Jul 26, 2022

Two CPS teachers who protested General Iron face firing for encouraging students to do the same

The Chicago Teachers Union says the teachers, including a hunger striker, are being retaliated against for embarrassing Mayor Lightfoot. The Chicago Board of Education is expected to vote Wednesday.

Chicago Sun-Times · Jul 22, 2022

Lori Lightfoot’s showdown with the feds: What’s at stake for people in Chicago

The mayor calls HUD’s accusations that City Hall has engaged in environmental racism “preposterous.” The funding that’s threatened by the dispute includes money that keeps 650 people with HIV or AIDS from living on the street.

The Independent UK · Jul 21, 2022

Chicago violated civil rights by moving polluting business to mainly Black and Latino area, government report finds

Housing department also warned mayor’s office of funding losses if no action taken

Chicago Sun-Times · Jul 19, 2022

HUD accuses city of Chicago of environmental racism by moving polluters to Black, Latino neighborhoods

City Hall could face losing hundreds of millions in federal housing money. A spokesman for Mayor Lori Lightfoot calls the HUD findings “absolutely absurd.”

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