Owners of vacant site with asbestos face $500-a-day penalty
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Owners of a vacant mill on Springfield's northeast side face a $500-a-day penalty dating back two months for not dealing with asbestos on the site.
Sangamon County Circuit Judge John Madonia held the owners of P. Mills LLC, Midwest Demolition Co. and Joey Chernis of Midwest Demolition in civil contempt for failing to hire a company to clean up the asbestos and secure the property from outsiders.
Chernis is also a partner in P. Mills, which owns the 18-acre site abandoned in 2001. He told The (Springfield) State Journal-Register (http://bit.ly/1NhFpwH ) the firms cannot afford the cleanup the state demands.
The Illinois attorney general's office filed a lawsuit in August claiming inspectors found "substantial danger" to the public at the site.
A status hearing is set for Dec. 7.
___
Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com