Little Village residents may be eligible for $12.25M settlement over botched power plant implosion

CHICAGO - Little Village residents who lived around the site of the botched implosion of a coal power plant in 2020 may be eligible for part of a $12.25 million settlement related to the incident.

The company responsible for the accident, Hilco Redevelopment, and its contractors agreed to pay the money as part of a proposed class-action lawsuit in federal court in Chicago.

The debacle coated the Southwest Side community in dust on April 11, 2020. Residents who own property in the area or were present at the time of the implosion may be eligible for payouts. Go to littlevillagesmokestack.com for more information and to file a claim.

As many as 80,000 people may be eligible for injury payments up to $500, according to a lawyer for the residents.

Residents who were affected must submit a claim by March 26. Those who want to object to the agreement or opt out of the settlement have until Feb. 26. Opting out is the only way a person can seek any other lawsuit against Hilco and its contractors.

The lawsuit was brought by three residents shortly after the implosion of an almost 400-foot chimney at the former Crawford coal-fired power plant caused the structure to crash to the ground and blanket the community with a massive dust cloud.

The "toxic plume caused the residents of Little Village difficulty breathing and it has had and will have a pronounced effect on their health in the future," the residents said in their lawsuit. The dust plume also "coated dozens of properties and personal property throughout the neighborhood, reducing their value and requiring extensive remediation."

Hilco demolished the plant to redevelop the area with a more than 1 million-square-foot warehouse that is now being leased to retailer Target. A Hilco executive declined to comment on the settlement.

A final approval hearing for the class-action suit will be held April 22.