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Chicago billionaire pays people to dump gourmet nuts in public park, sparking rat infestation — and he won’t stop
Chicago officials say billionaire Barre Seid has funded workers to scatter food around his home and Lincoln Park, attracting pigeons and rats.
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Billionaire Barre Seid is under fire from Chicago officials for allegedly creating a public health hazard by hiring workers to dump large quantities of nuts, seeds and other foods around his home and nearby Lincoln Park, attracting massive flocks of pigeons and triggering a severe rat infestation.
According to a city document first reported by Axios, local officials in Chicago’s 43rd Ward state that for more than three years, Seid has funded individuals to distribute canvas bags' worth of food throughout the area. What began near his residence has since expanded deep into Lincoln Park, where workers place food "around and in trees and throughout the park."
The ongoing feeding operation has drawn swarms of pigeons whose droppings, alongside the uneaten food, have fueled a booming rodent population near the popular Green City Market. This, in turn, has caused extensive property damage that could leave taxpayers covering the repair bills.
Warnings went unheeded
Alderman Timmy Knudsen (serving in the Chicago City Council for the 43rd Ward) noted that Seid’s nut-spreading operation has actually expanded in recent months, even as the city has steadily escalated its enforcement efforts.
The 94-year-old industrialist, who owns Tripp Lite, has paid every ticket and fine issued against him without contesting the violations.
Last August, Knudsen sent a final warning letter directly to Seid, demanding that he halt the feeding, secure all garbage in rodent-safe containers, and take immediate corrective measures against rat harborages within 15 days. Seid did not respond to the notice.
"When we exhaust our aldermanic authority, which is typically through [Streets and San], we have to get creative, and that's why we're pushing the park district to file a lawsuit for damage to the park," Knudsen told Axios.
"The rat burrows have gotten so much bigger where these nuts are being laid out and the Green City Market vendors are seeing the rats during setup. It's creating an unfortunate situation in a beautiful part of the park."
Neighbours vent against billionaire
Neighbors and visitors to the area have expressed disbelief at both the scale and the high quality of the food being dumped throughout the public park.
“When I describe this to people, this gets into the stranger than fiction aspect of it,” Lincoln Park resident Caroline Novak told Chicago’s WGN-TV last month. “It’s like a luxury melange of really nice nuts.”
“I’m talking Brazil nuts, walnuts […] I’m no arborist, but these do not come from these trees,” said Novak, who was one of the first to spot nut distributors in the park paid by Seid. “These are not acorns.”
Novak also claimed that Seid’s workers responded with “hostile” language when neighbours and park staff questioned them. Park District officials say they are still "assessing available options to address the ongoing activity."
