Village of Robbins Residents Speak Out Against Limestone Quarry

For the past six months, the United Citizens of Robbins (UCOR), a group of Village of Robbins residents and stakeholders, founded in 2013 and operating as a collective, has been demanding transparency and full disclosure regarding a pending limestone quarry and underground mine, operated by ALM Resources LLC.

“We were formed in response to this limestone [project] that’s been imposed upon us,” said UCOR chairman, David Dyson at a recent meeting.

According to Dyson, since learning of the quarry in Aug., UCOR, in a petition drive collected 600-700 signatures from neighborhood residents who are opposed to the quarry– roughly 13% of the Robbins population according to a 2010 U.S. Census report.

The group has also held several community meetings about the quarry project at Greater Christian Unity Church Missionary Baptist Church, 3030 S. Claire Blvd., Robbins, IL and meetings at William Leonard Public Library, 13820 Central Park Ave., Robbins, IL.

Specifically, UCOR representatives’ primary concerns pertaining to both projects are: the permanent displacement of elderly homeowners, the number of above-minimum wage full-time jobs that the quarry will produce, and access to training and tradesmen certification courses for Robbins residents to obtain quarry related jobs.

ALM Resources LLC spokesman Paul Stewart addressed the issues in a conversation with the Chicago Citizen Newspaper.

When asked about the number of above-minimum wage full-time jobs the quarry would produce along with job specific training, Stewart replied, “The jobs that will be created are “not minimum wage jobs”, however, “all of those jobs have not been identified” and ALM Resources LLC is still in the preliminary, pre-development stage on that topic.”

Stewart agreed that Robbins residents should be trained and prepared for the jobs that would potentially come to the community and added that a “soft projection” of 40 to 100 jobs will be created in “the lifespan of the project”.

Stewart also acknowledge that “several parcels of land” involving some homeowner property still needed to be acquired but maintained that any acquisition will be in accordance with Illinois statutes. He also stated that ALM Resources LLC is actively coordinating a new meeting with the Robbins community to address concerns and that Robbins community organizations have not recently reached out to ALM Resources LLC representatives to attend a meeting.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation into the limestone quarry project in October 2013 in response to an anonymous complaint made to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office’s corruption hotline.

“The evidence brought to the Sheriff’s attention made clear that the interests of the residents of Robbins were not protected nor were they the focus of the negotiations between the Village and the developer,” said Benjamin Breit, a spokesman for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, in a released statement to a Chicago Citizen Newspaper.

“If the Village and the developer attempt to initiate another contract, the Sheriff will make sure that it is done in an open and transparent way, not under the cover of darkness," said Breit. “[Sheriff Dart] will also make sure that any contract signed by the Village reflects the needs and interests of its residents.”

The Chicago Citizen Newspaper received the following statement in an email from Village of Robbins Mayor Tyrone Ward and to the Village of Robbins’ Board of Trustees, after making several calls to inquire about the village’s position on the quarry:

“The Board of Trustees and I have decided to slow things down and look deeper into all aspects of this project. One of the initial steps taken was to develop a citizen comprised Advisory Board to provide us with their suggestions and/or recommendations. As things progress we will keep everyone informed!”

For more information about ALM Resources’ limestone quarry project visit http://robbinsresources.com/home/.

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