Waste Company Gets Permit to Move to Chicago Latino Neighborhood

General Iron Industries Inc., a metal-shredding company, has received approval from Illinois to move its operation from an affluent, White neighborhood in Chicago to a majority Latino, low-income neighborhood on the city’s South Side.

The permit, issued Thursday, is for a move that was hotly contested as an environmental justice issue by local residents and officials, who say the plant will be an additional source of air pollution in a part of the city already suffering from dirty air. Critics said the pollution is particularly concerning because scientists have reported air pollution can exacerbate Covid-19.

General Iron needs the construction ...