Mount Prospect wins round in court against feed company, as odor complaints persist

A Cook County judge ruled Thursday that Mount Prospect can proceed with legal action that could shut down an animal feed producer until it eliminates odors that have raised complaints from neighbors.

But in response, an attorney for Prestige Feed Products Thursday said his client will hit the restart button on a lawsuit filed against the village in May seeking to prevent a halt in its operations. That lawsuit was put on hold when Prestige, 431 Lakeview Court, and the village reached an agreement that would allow the business to operate between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. five days a week as it worked to install odor-eating equipment.

Prestige attorney Riccardo DiMonte said that odor-fighting equipment's arrival is being delayed by four weeks, pushing back its installation from early November to December.

That is bad news for the plant's neighbors in Mount Prospect and Des Plaines, who are still complaining about the stench, which has been compared to burnt cheese.

On Thursday, Judge Clare Quish denied Prestige's motion to dismiss the village's request for injunctive relief.

DiMonte argued that the company's agreement with Mount Prospect allows it to remain open while waiting to see if the odor equipment solves the problems. If the village takes a position inconsistent with the agreement, he said, that could open the door for Prestige to operate 24 hours a day.

“That would be a lot more profitable for us,” he said. “We're barely covering our costs operating 40 hours a week.”

The village's attorney, Allen Wall, countered that the agreement does not prevent the village from seeking relief from the court if circumstances call for it. He added that the volume of complaints has escalated since the order went into effect in June.