A federal judge approved a $12.25 million settlement for Little Village residents over the botched demolition of the Crawford Coal Plant on April 11, 2020.
After the settlement is divided evenly, each plaintiff will receive about $317, according to the plaintiffs’ attorney, Scott Rauscher of Loevy & Loevy.
Juan Rangel is one of the plaintiffs and main organizers of the class action lawsuit. He said his portion of the settlement will go to his local church.
“It was never about the money,” Rangel said. “It’s the statement.”
A still image from a video taken of the demolition of the Crawford Coal Plant smokestack, April 11, 2020. (Courtesy of Alejandro Reyes)
Rangel, along with his neighbors, began to mobilize after feeling like Hilco Redevelopment Partners, the company that carried out the demolition, and the city of Chicago had not done enough in the aftermath of the implosion. Rangel believes something like this would not have happened in a neighborhood with different demographics.
“(The botched demolition) happened, I think, because it was a primarily Mexican, immigrant community,” Rangel said. “If this were anywhere else, the city would have taken all the precautions.”
A 2023 report from the Guardian found that Chicago’s South and West sides ranked third in a list of 10 worst places in the U.S. to live for air pollution — area codes that are majority Black and Latino.
It’s been just over four years since a cloud of debris blanketed the Southwest Side community, an incident that long-time resident Rangel described as a “shock.”
“Nobody expects this kind of thing,” Rangel said. “It was a clear, sunny day when this huge cloud descended on the neighborhood.”
A cloud of debris covered Little Village after the demolition of the Crawford Coal Plant smokestack on April 11, 2020. (macnifying_glass / Instagram)
He grew up in a home half a block away from the plant — close enough to see the billowing smokestacks.
Today a Target warehouse stands on the grounds where the Crawford plant once stood for more than eight decades.
Rauscher and Rangel said they’re both pleased with the outcome of the lawsuit.
“I think it sends a message to corporations that we’re going to hold you responsible,” Rauscher said.
The civil rights lawyer emphasized that while the settlement is going to be divided among a large group of people, it is still a significant amount of money for a company to pay, which itself is a feat.
“At the end of the day, it’s about respect for this community — the immigrant, Mexican community of Little Village, and it’s about justice,” Rauscher said.
