CHICAGO—In response to outcry among South Side residents, Chicago officials reportedly defended Thursday relocating a polluting factory to a local Black family’s kitchen. “Despite what a few chronic complainers on the radical left say, the decision to relocate Rondell Chemical to the kitchen and dining room of the Watson family was made solely due to this being the best new site based on current zoning laws,” said Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, adding that city consultants had determined that any detrimental effects of moving the medical chemical company’s factory to the 59th Street second-floor kitchen on the health and well-being of Chris and Erica Watson and their three young children had been largely exaggerated.“As the city changes, it simply doesn’t make sense to keep this facility in the Elston corridor, where its site can go to better use as part of an upscale shopping and apartment district. Especially when we have an ideal location for the factory right where the Watsons’ kitchen table now stands. Furthermore, enlarging the factory here will bring hundreds of new jobs to the Watsons’ home, among myriad other economic benefits. The site’s developers have assured me that any industrial runoff can go into the sink, and if there are any threats to air quality, one of the children can simply open a window to let it out. While we regret that the factory’s installation where the fridge used to be unintentionally created a food desert in the house, we need our residents to understand that we’re doing what is best holistically for the city.” At press time, city officials decided to knock the whole building down without any warning.
Chicago Defends Relocating Polluting Factory To Black Family’s Kitchen
