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Franklin Park firm a noisy neighbor, some say
Area residents met with representatives of trucking firm Foodliner, 9200 King St., on Jan. 17. | Mark Lawton~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 2, 2013 6:19AM
FRANKLIN PARK — Shawn and Sherry O’Neill say Foodliner, a trucking company near their Franklin Park home, has woken them up every night for 10 years.
Foodliner, 9200 King St., moves bulk foods, liquids and other items, according to its website. When trucks return from their deliveries, they go into the facility to have the tank interiors washed.
The trailers are then taken outside and dried in a noisy fashion, said resident Shawn O’Neill who lives on nearby Crescent Drive.
“It sounds like a jet,” Shawn said. “Those noises start at three in the morning.”
“The noise that is the problem is after 10 p.m. and before 6 a.m.,” Sherry, his wife, said.
Neighbor Gertrude Miklasz agrees.
“If you’re outside, its very annoying,” Miklasz said. “You can’t enjoy a peaceful evening in the yard. Sometimes when you’re listening to TV, you can hear it.”
Some residents went to the Illinois Pollution Control Board, which ruled against Foodliner on June 6, 2002. Nothing, however, came out of the ruling
About a month ago, the O’Neills hired Norridge attorney Thomas Tartaglia. Rather than going to court, Tartaglia sent a copy of the Illinois Pollution Control Board report to Village President Barrett Pedersen, who in turn set up a meeting on Jan. 17 between residents, two Foodliner representatives, Pedersen and zoning administrator John Schneider.
After some research, Schneider found out that the village does have the power to regulate Foodliner.
“All activities related to industry has to take place indoors,” Schneider said. “That’s in our ordinance. I read that to Foodliner (representatives) and they didn’t know that.”
Foodliner declined to comment for this article.
Tartaglia said the two company representatives at the meeting “seemed open minded and willing to have a civil discussion.”
Schneider, whose is also economic development director, spends most of his time trying to retain or attract businesses to the village.
“We don’t want to lose the company but people shouldn’t be awoken at 3 in the morning,” he said. “We don’t want them to move but there might be a site in a pure industrial area (in Franklin Park) that might work better for them.”
