Trump Tower Sued By Illinois Over Environmental Violations

CHICAGO, IL — Illinois is suing the Trump International Hotel and Tower for clean water law violations that are endangering the fish and other aquatic life in the Chicago, Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced Tuesday. The lawsuit, which was filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court, accuses building managers of pumping millions of gallons of water daily into the river without the required permits and without conducting federally mandated studies on its effects to the waterway's ecosystem.

"I filed my lawsuit to make sure Trump Tower cannot continue violating the law," Madigan said in a statement.

According to Madigan's office, the high-rise, along the Chicago River at 401 N. Wabash Ave., pulls in nearly 20 million gallons of river water a day to cool the skyscraper's air, heating and ventilation system. By federal law, the building's owner must do "extensive studies" of the river's fish populations with an intake of that much water because large volume of aquatic life can be sucked into the skyscraper's system. However, no studies were given to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the lawsuit claims.

Millions of gallons of heated water also have been released daily into the river by Trump Tower, even though the building's permit to do so expired nearly a year ago, the lawsuit alleges. In 2012, Madigan filed a complaint with the Illinois Pollution Control Board concerning the lack of such a permit, an issue that was eventual resolved in 2013.

The state lawsuit filed Monday seeks civil penalties, as well as to prevent further environmental law violations.

Trump International Tower and Tower (Photo by Joe Vince | Patch)