Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced today that a Cook County Circuit Court judge granted his office’s motion for summary judgment, finding 401 North Wabash Venture LLC (Trump International Hotel & Tower, known as Trump Tower) violated both the Illinois Environmental Protection Act and Illinois Pollution Control Board regulations. The decision also grants summary judgment to the Sierra Club and Friends of the Chicago River, both plaintiff-intervenors in the case.
“The Chicago River is one of our city’s most treasured natural resources, providing opportunities for recreation and commerce. For years, Trump Tower failed to follow state and federal regulations that protect the health of the Chicago River and the balance of critical aquatic ecosystems therein,” Raoul said. “All entities – no matter who they are – must be held accountable when they willfully disregard our laws. I am pleased with this decision, and I am committed to continuing to vigorously enforce our environmental laws.”
“The agency is pleased with the court’s ruling and will continue our work with the Illinois Attorney General’s office to ensure Trump Tower is held accountable for its numerous violations of Illinois law,” said Illinois EPA Interim Director James Jennings.
In 2018, the Illinois Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against Trump Tower based on a referral from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). The lawsuit alleged Trump Tower failed to obtain the necessary permit and submit information to the IEPA, as required by the Clean Water Act, to demonstrate compliance with federal regulations relating to the building’s operation of a cooling water intake system. Also in 2018, the Sierra Club and Friends of the Chicago River filed an intervening lawsuit against Trump Tower over continuing violations of the Clean Water Act and Public Nuisance.
Raoul’s office and the parties entered into an agreed interim order in 2018 that required Trump Tower to follow the terms of its expired National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and report the average daily volume of heated water it discharges into the Chicago River every month. Trump Tower had been submitting monthly discharge monitoring reports (DMR) since 2013, as required by its first NPDES permit.
The Attorney General’s office amended its lawsuit in September 2023, adding violations of both the Illinois Environmental Protection Act and Illinois Pollution Control Board regulations after plaintiff-intervenors’ expert witness discovered that Trump Tower had been underreporting to IEPA about its heated water discharges for over a decade in its DMRs.
Trump Tower operates a cooling water intake system capable of pulling more than 20 million gallons of water from the river per day to cool its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. Due to this volume, federal law requires extensive studies on fish populations in Chicago River and impacts from such intake systems. The federal Clean Water Act regulates these structures because they can pull large volumes of fish and other aquatic life into a building's cooling system. Fish and other organisms can also get trapped against intake screens.
Construction of Trump Tower began in 2005 without obtaining an NPDES permit authorizing discharges into the river. In 2012, Raoul's office filed a complaint with Illinois Pollution Control Board alleging unlawful release of heated water into Chicago River by Trump Tower. The matter was settled with orders for obtaining an NPDES permit, paying fines, and complying with environmental laws. In 2013, Trump Tower sought a modified NPDES permit after initially misreporting daily water withdrawal and discharge amounts.
Raoul's office seeks civil penalties and injunctive relief for these violations which will be determined at a future court hearing not yet scheduled.
Supervising Attorney Elizabeth Dubats along with Senior Assistant Attorney General Christopher Grant, Assistant Attorneys General Ann Marie Hanohano, Rebecca Kanz, and Molly Kordas handled this case for Raoul's Environmental Bureau.