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Trump Tower Chicago agrees to $4.8 million settlement for Clean Water Act violations
The Chicago Trump International Hotel and Tower has agreed to pay a $4.8 million settlement for environmental violations to the Clean Water Act, environmental groups said.
Friends of the Chicago River and the Sierra Club announced the settlement Tuesday morning. They said the building has accumulated years of federal and state environmental law violations. Friends of the Chicago River, the Sierra Club and then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan sued the organization in 2018 after a violation of cooling water intake was found during a routine permit review.
In announcing the settlement, the groups said the Trump International Hotel and Tower had agreed to take steps to come into compliance with the Clean Water Act and Illinois Environmental Protection Act. They also said Trump Tower agreed to pay $1.5 million in penalties to the state, $300,000 in attorneys fees and $3 million toward a Supplemental Environmental Project, which directs funds toward tangible improvements in the areas affected by the violations.
A Cook County judge ruled in September 2024 that Trump Tower was in violation of these acts and had failed to comply with state and federal law dating back to before the building opened in 2008, constituting a public nuisance.
According to the lawsuit, the tower draws 21 million gallons of water from the Chicago River on a daily basis to cool it, but ignored and violate federal law requirement it to use systems that minimize impact on aquatic life, accurately report water usage, and do so under properly secured permits.
CBS News Chicago has reached out to Trump International Hotel and Tower about the settlement and is waiting to hear back.
