Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced his office has filed a lawsuit against Prestige Feed Products LLC (Prestige) for allegedly allowing excessive odors and causing air and noise pollution from its animal feed manufacturing plant in Mount Prospect, Illinois.
“Residents in the community surrounding Prestige should be able to enjoy their lives and homes without having to endure the foul odors coming from the company’s operations,” Raoul said. “The company needs to address these odor issues and ensure that its operations comply with Illinois’ environmental laws. I will continue to protect all Illinois communities and hold companies accountable when violations of our environmental laws occur.”
According to Raoul’s lawsuit – filed on Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court – nearly 150 residents living near Prestige’s facility in Mount Prospect have logged over 1,000 separate complaints of nauseating odors from the plant since June 2023. Many of the complaints list a pungent, overpowering stench of burnt cheese emanating from the plant. Prestige’s facility uses equipment and machinery to dehydrate raw soy and cheese-based materials into animal feed ingredients.
Several of the complainants living near the facility express being forced to keep windows in their homes closed due to the nauseating odors and being unable to enjoy outdoor activities. The odors are also affecting nearby schools, as a day care and preschool facility was forced to keep children indoors on days when the odors from the facility were present.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) inspected the site in July 2023 and November 2024 and noted burnt-cheese odors in numerous areas around and off-site of the facility while the facility was operating. The IEPA received an odor assessment report from an environmental consulting firm hired by Prestige that identified high levels of Butyric Acid at all nine sampled sites. Butyric Acid is known by the National Institutes of Health to have a penetrating, rancid and putrid odor.
Raoul’s lawsuit is based on a referral from the IEPA.
“Though Prestige Feed is a small facility, it is still required to comply with state environmental regulations,” said Illinois EPA Acting Director James Jennings. “Illinois EPA referred this case to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office to require action be taken by Prestige Feed to address ongoing odor complaints impacting local residents.”
The Attorney General’s office enforces Illinois’ environmental protection laws. Attorney General Raoul’s Environmental Enforcement Division, which enforces civil environmental laws, has recovered millions of dollars from polluters and required companies to undertake environmental improvement projects in communities impacted by pollution. Raoul encourages residents to report environmental justice and other environmental concerns to his office by emailing ej@ilag.gov.
Supervising Attorney Ellen O’Laughlin, Assistant Attorneys General Christina Scanlon and Jason Clark and Senior Assistant Attorney General Nancy Tikalsky are handling the case for Raoul’s Environmental Bureau.
