The order, issued by Judge Thomas Donnelly, keeps the plant closed while the court considers the government’s request for a preliminary injunction. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 14, and operations are to remain halted until a final order is issued.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the facility should not reopen until it addresses its odors and air pollution and complies with state environmental laws. He said nearby residents have endured environmental harm that disrupted their lives and their use of homes and neighborhood spaces.

The city and state sued Pullman Innovations in August, alleging violations of state and city air-pollution laws. The company produces an additive used in animal feed for farmers who supply eggs to Dutch Farms. A lawyer for its parent company, A-F Acquisition LLC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The plant has drawn hundreds of odor complaints over several years, with some complaints dating to the facility’s former operator, Agri-Fine. The Chicago Department of Public Health has issued Pullman Innovations multiple tickets for code violations, and Illinois EPA investigators have reported detecting the smell inside the plant and in surrounding neighborhoods. Investigators said the odor at times made it difficult to breathe.

In testimony supporting the restraining order, a city inspector said he had conducted 160 inspections at the site. He described a rotten-egg, sulfur smell that burned his nostrils and caused an acute headache.

The case follows a long-running neighborhood dispute over industrial odors and their effects on daily life. Agri-Fine had also faced legal action by a former Illinois attorney general before it went out of business.