The city of Chicago continued its fight to block Southside Recycling from operating a proposed metal shredding plant on the Southeast Side, filing an appeal Friday of a judge’s ruling that the clout-heavy company should be issued a permit.

       An administrative law judge ruled in early June that Southside Recycling should be allowed to operate in Chicago’s heavily polluted Southeast Side — overturning one of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s central environmental justice efforts.

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       Her successor, Mayor Brandon Johnson, had promised to appeal the judge’s ruling and formally did so on Friday, noting the existing environmental hazards in that part of the city.