Southside Recycling refiles lawsuit against city of Chicago

Chicago-based Southside Recycling, which has constructed a recycling facility on the city’s southeast side, has filed a lawsuit in Illinois state court July 1 directing the city of Chicago to issue a final permit to the company.

The lawsuit alleges that the city has wrongfully failed to issue the last permit needed for the facility to begin operating, despite acknowledging for months that Southside Recycling has satisfied all the requirements. In addition to court orders mandating issuance of the permit and barring the city from interfering with the company’s lawful use of its property, the lawsuit requests damages in excess of $100 million from the city.

Southside Recycling along with parent company RMG Investment Group LLC had previously filed a federal lawsuit with the same language as the state court lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Chicago against the city of Chicago and Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, earlier this summer. United States District Judge Robert M. Dow Jr. terminated the lawsuit in late June, writing that the arguments in the dispute are better suited for state court.

Upon termination of the federal lawsuit, Southside Recycling reported plans to seek a ruling in state court ordering the city to issue the permit. “We will continue to fight for our right to service our suppliers and responsibly perform the critical service of metal recycling for Chicago,” the company stated in late June.

Southside Recycling has appeared before an Illinois state court judge on the new lawsuit in the past week. The company says it does not have any additional comments on the lawsuit filed in the state court.