U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois toured parts of Chicago’s Southeast side this week.
He wanted to get a first-hand look at the petroleum coke issue.
Durbin says he knows the Southeast side has been the home to heavy industry for more than a century.
But, he says, that doesn’t mean companies are off the hook when it comes to protecting residents who live nearby.
"If you want to be an industrial or corporate neighbor in this neighborhood, you’ve got to be a good neighbor. And you’ve got to be as sensitive to the health to the people living around here as you are to your bottom line profits," Durbin said.
Two companies are under fire for the airborne release of pet coke, an ash-like by-product of crude oil refining.
The firms are subjects of several lawsuits, including from the Illinois Attorney General’s office, to better handle or remove the pet coke from the area.
The pet coke is trucked in from BP’s Refinery a short distance away in Whiting, Indiana.