Chemtool

Judge approve final settlement from Holian Insulation for Chemtool fire

About 7,000 residents will share the $5.5 million settlement.

Michael McGinnis

Oct 23, 2025 — 5 min read

Part of the Chemtool plant after the fire. Photo: reddit.com (googlymooglygooby)

Judge Stephen E. Balogh has given final approval for Northern Illinois residents affected by the 2021 Chemtool disaster to receive $5.5 million from Holian Insulation Company as part of a second settlement in the class action lawsuit. The conditions of the final order were the same as the preliminary agreement he had approved on Friday, June 27, 2025.

With $3.5 million available after expenses and fees, the average payment might be over $500. Residents who previously received payments from the Chemtool settlement - averaging more than $10,000 each - didn't need to apply again. For those who were missed the first time, the claim deadline was October 13. New class members in the Holian settlement won't receive anything from the earlier Chemtool settlement, as those funds have already been sent out.

At the hearing on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, parties in the Chemtool, Lubrizol, and Holian Insulation lawsuit met in Judge Stephen Balogh's court in Belvidere. The five male plaintiffs' attorneys appeared in person, in suits and ties, while the defense attorneys appeared via Zoom. As usual, lead plaintiff Charles Grasley of Rockton was there too.

During the hearing, Judge Balogh said, "I have reviewed the motion filed" and found it "fair, reasonable, and adequate," so he approved the final settlement effectively "immediately." If the attorneys need to rearrange some of the administrative details with Analytics Consulting, the settlement administrator, and Huntington Bank, the escrow agent, they can do so "without further approval of the court."

One of the attorneys praised his colleagues for how courteous they had been throughout the hearings and said, "All counsel should get a Civility pin." The judge agreed, "If I had Civility pins, I'd pass them out."

The next deadline for the attorneys to provide a status report will be "on or before Monday, December 29, 2025," but the judge says they can "file over the counter," without a hearing.

When there was smoke and fire

On June 14, 2021, the Stateline area experienced a devastating explosion and fire at Lubrizol's Chemtool facility at 1165 Prairie Hill Road in Rockton, Illinois. Now closed but not sold, the plant was the largest manufacturer of grease in the United States.

On December 12, 2021, OSHA fined Holian $9,557, determining that Holian was at fault for the fire because their contractor did not ensure "that adequate clearance was maintained between a scissor lift and overhead obstructions while operating a scissor lift between cooking kettles (reactors) R601 and R604. While operating the scissor lift, it struck a pressure tap on a hot oil return pipe for cooking kettle R604, resulting in an oil leak and subsequent fire." Holian paid the fine on December 14, 2022.

For four days, residents were required, then strongly encouraged, to evacuate. The smoke plume was visible for miles, as far as Madison and DeKalb. The fire was not fully extinguished until June 23, nine days after it began. Still, the Illinois EPA found "no exceedances" of air or water pollutants.

One of the firefighters commented afterwards, "If I recall, not a single employee was injured and no firefighters were hurt. Pretty impressive stats for a fire that had full semitrailer AIRGAS containers littered all over the place and exploding randomly."

Added to the previous $94.5 million settlement, this $5.5 million settlement brings the total settlement to $100 million - probably a record for Winnebago and Boone counties.