The History of Calumet Park

By: Phoebe Liccardo

Chicago is graced with many breathtaking parks, and Calumet Park is no exception. Commissioned in 1903 and incorporated as a park in 1934, Calumet Park remains a staple of Chicago’s Southeast Side.[1] The park’s location on the shore of Lake Michigan is a defining characteristic both aesthetically and legally.[2]     

In 1982, Calumet Park underwent a change when it converted forty-five acres of its shoreline property into a confined disposal facility (CDF).[3] The State of Illinois permitted construction of the CDF, which took place from 1982-1984. The federal government, acting through the Army Corps of Engineers, then took over the land to dredge and dispose of sediment from the bed of the Calumet River.[4] The dredged sediments contained heavy metals, PCBs, and other environmental toxins harmful to human health.[5] The CDF was supposed to operate for not more than 10 years, at which point the Army Corps would turn the land over to Chicago Park District for the development of a community park.[6] However, the federal government operated the CDF far beyond ten years, and in 2020, the Army Corps requested a three-story expansion of the ground-level facility.[7]

Environmental Justice Concerns

The CDF sits on the shore of Lake Michigan, the source of Chicago residents’ drinking water.[8] The toxic waste site is repeatedly held up as a symbol of environmental hazards on the Southeast Side. Residents’ and environmental groups’ main concern is that an expansion of the toxic waste facility inherently poses a risk to residents’ drinking water.[9] Furthermore, the CDF is within Chicago’s Tenth Ward, which is a recognized “EJ area of concern.”[10] The State of Illinois defines an EJ (environmental justice) area of concern as “a census block group with a low-income and/or minority population greater than twice the statewide average.”[11] Opponents of the facility expansion claim that the Tenth Ward is already overburdened with waste facilities, and expanding the CDF would only contribute to the environmental injustices in the community.[12]

2023 Southeast Side Lawsuit

In 2023, community members from Chicago’s Southeast Side rallied together in an effort to reject the CDF’s expansion and lay claim to the community park that never was.[13] The Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC), on behalf of the Alliance for the Southeast and Friends of the Parks, filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of Illinois demanding that the Army Corps’ expansion proposal be denied.[14]

The lawsuit relies on the federal government’s own law that the facility should not have continued to operate beyond ten years, and that the City of Chicago does not have the authority to grant the expansion.[15] The CDF resides on the submerged bed of Lake Michigan, subjecting the land to public trust and therefore, the authority of the State of Illinois.[16] Accordingly, the Attorney General of Illinois, Kwame Raoul, filed an amicus brief to ELPC’s lawsuit in 2024.[17] Foremost, the Attorney General stressed the history of dumping toxic industrial waste and other environmental injustices that occurred on Chicago’s Southeast Side.[18] The brief also emphasized that the Army Corps’ facility expansion would be at odds with the State’s duty to provide a healthful environmental for Illinois residents.[19]

Ultimately, the ELPC and the State of Illinois relied on the ancient Public Trust Doctrine to reclaim land from the federal government. Originating from Roman Law, the public trust imparts a legal duty on sovereign states to protect land and water resources for public use.[20] Under the doctrine, the State of Illinois is responsible for protecting and maintaining the waters and submerged land under Lake Michigan.[21] The State of Illinois relied on the doctrine to grant the land to Chicago Park District in 1982.[22] However, the State let its public trust duty slip away for decades as Chicago Park District abandoned its promise to develop a park and repeatedly renewed the Army Corps DCF permit well beyond the statutory ten years.[23]

In March 2025, the Army Corps withdrew their expansion proposal, leaving the CDF at full capacity and no plans to continue dumping.[24] It is possible that the federal government would have succeeded in its attempt to expand the CDF, if it weren’t for Chicago’s southeast coalitions coming together and demanding the Calumet Park they were promised over four decades ago.

The Bright Future of Calumet Park

Calumet Park has a history of neglect. Originally set to open in 1905 as one of Chicago Park District’s first ten parks, Calumet Park’s construction was postponed until it was finally incorporated in 1934.[25] Patrons of Calumet Park waited patiently for the day when the waste facility would close, and the newest lakeside park on the Southside would open. Decades went by before the State stepped in to resume its role as the arbiter of Lake Michigan’s shores.

Since withdrawing their expansion proposal, the Army Corps is expected to remediate the dumping site in preparation for the long-awaited community park.[26] This victory for the ELPC and Chicago residents echoes the importance of exercising individual state’s rights over public resources. Illinois’s claim to the shores of Lake Michigan is virtually impenetrable, and every other state has the same responsibility to protect their natural resources for the citizens of their state.[27] The Public Trust Doctrine goes beyond a mere tool to protect natural resources and imposes an affirmative duty on states to protect applicable resources.

The State of Illinois exercised its public trust duty and Illinois residents are benefitting from a cleaner environment because of it. Now, residents can look forward with relief and excitement to the development of Chicago’s newest park on Lake Michigan’s shore.

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[1] Calumet Park, Chicago Park District (last visited Oct. 11, 2025), https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks-facilities/calumet-park [https://perma.cc/9QLF-7DKL].

[2] Id.

[3] Complaint at 2, All. of the Southeast v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs, No. 1:2023cv01524 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 13, 2023).

[4] Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS), Dredged Material Mgmt. Plan and integrated Env’t Impact Statement (EIS), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chicago District (Apr. 2020), https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16021coll7/id/26143 [https://perma.cc/6F8J-7WS6].

[5] Id.

[6] Complaint at 2, All. of the Southeast v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs, No. 1:2023cv01524 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 13, 2023).

[7] Id.

[8] Water Supply, City of Chicago (last visited Oct. 14, 2025), https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/water/provdrs/supply.html [https://perma.cc/PJ7N-RJXH].

[9] Chicago’s Southeast Side wins fight to stop toxic landfill expansion near Lake Michigan, Environmental Health News (Aug. 21, 2025),

https://www.ehn.org/chicagos-southeast-side-wins-fight-to-stop-toxic-landfill-expansion-near-lake-michigan [https://perma.cc/LR5T-Z8JS].

[10] Chicago Area Confined Disposal Facility, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (last visited Oct. 11, 2025), https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/community-relations/sites/cdf.html [https://perma.cc/V93J-9GYT].

[11] Env’t Justice (EJ) Policy, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Oct. 2021), https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/environmental-justice/ej-policy.html [https://perma.cc/76Y4-8FHB].

[12] Judith Nemes, Ill. EPA Opposes U.S. Army Corps’ Toxic Landfill Plan on Chicago’s Southeast Side, Environmental Law & Policy Center (Jan. 17, 2025), https://elpc.org/news/illinois-epa-opposes-armycorps-toxic-landfill-southeast-chicago/ [https://perma.cc/39C4-JVAQ].

[13] See Complaint, All. of the Southeast v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs, No. 1:2023cv01524 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 13, 2023).

[14] Id.

[15] Id.

[16] Complaint at 2, All. of the Southeast v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs, No. 1:2023cv01524 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 13, 2023); see Illinois Central R. Co. v. Illinois, 146 U.S. 387 (1892).

[17] See Brief of the Attorney General of Illinois as Amicus Curiae, All. of the Southeast v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs, No. 1:2023cv01524 (N.D. Ill. Jul. 11, 2024).

[18] Id at 4.

[19] Id.

[20] See Illinois Central R. Co. v. Illinois, 146 U.S. 387 (1892).

[21] Complaint at 2, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, All. of the Southeast v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs, No. 1:2023cv01524 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 13, 2023); see Illinois Central R. Co. v. Illinois, 146 U.S. 387 (1892).

[22] Complaint at 2, All. of the Southeast v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs, No. 1:2023cv01524 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 13, 2023).

[23] Id.

[24] Maxwell Evans, Plan To Expand Toxic Dump On South Lakefront Scrapped Thanks To Neighbors’ Fight, Block Club Chicago (Mar. 11, 2025), https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/03/11/plan-to-expand-toxic-dump-on-south-lakefront-scrapped-thanks-to-neighbors-fight/ [https://perma.cc/3G58-UBK5].

[25] Chicago Park Dist., supra note 1.

[26] Howard A. Learner, A Victory Celebration for Env’t Justice, Environmental Law & Policy Center (Sept. 22, 2025), https://elpc.org/blog/a-victory-celebration-for-environmental-justice/ [https://perma.cc/AS6R-PSNL].

[27] See Illinois Central R. Co. v. Illinois, 146 U.S. 387 (1892).