Chicago officials are considering legal action against 94-year-old industrialist Barre Seid, alleging that workers hired to scatter nuts for squirrels in Lincoln Park are helping to fuel a rat infestation.
Alderman Timmy Knudsen is urging the Chicago Park District to sue Mr Seid over damage to the park. Park District officials are weighing their options, while the city has already issued citations over the alleged feeding.
In a letter dated August 25, Mr Knudsen described the warning as a final notice and said city staff had received photographs and video appearing to show Mr Seid or his employees putting out food daily for squirrels and other wildlife.
The letter said the practice was creating a public health hazard by attracting squirrels, pigeons and rats. It cited a city code provision prohibiting the accumulation of rubbish or food that could provide rats with sustenance or shelter, and gave Mr Seid 15 days to stop.
City Streets and Sanitation officials have reportedly inspected the area several times over a number of years and issued warnings and citations. The alleged feeding continued despite the fines being paid, with Mr Seid settling the tickets without contesting them.
“Typically, when you ticket somebody, it stops their bad behavior,” Mr Knudsen said. He claimed the feeding had increased since the citations began.
Shells from Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, peanuts and walnuts have been found around the bases of trees near rat burrows, according to reports. Mr Knudsen said the burrows had expanded in places where the nuts were left, while vendors preparing the nearby Green City Market had reported seeing rats.
City documents indicate that taxpayers could ultimately face the cost of repairs connected to the damage. Neighbours and Mr Knudsen said Mr Seid and his wife, Barbara, had for years employed people to carry bags of nuts through the neighbourhood and Lincoln Park.
Mr Knudsen said the workers had been distributing nuts in the park, two or three blocks from the couple’s home, since early spring.
Chicago has topped Orkin’s annual list of America’s rattiest cities every year since the list began, including ten consecutive years by 2024.
Who is Barre Seid?
Mr Seid made his fortune as the owner of Tripp Lite, a Chicago manufacturer of surge protectors and power equipment. The company was transferred in 2020 to a conservative dark-money group run by legal activist Leonard Leo and sold to Eaton the following year for $1.65 billion.
Tax experts said the structure of the deal enabled Mr Seid to avoid as much as $400 million in tax. Tax records show that he donated at least $775 million to non-profit organisations between 1996 and 2018, most of it anonymously.
He also gave money to the Republican National Committee and was described by a longtime adviser as a major patron of the Heartland Institute, a Chicago-area think tank that disputes mainstream climate science.
Neither Mr Knudsen nor Mr Seid responded to requests for comment on the dispute.
