Over half a decade after it was originally sued by the Illinois Attorney General, the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago has been found guilty of breaking various local environmental laws. A Cook County Circuit Court judge found Wednesday that Trump’s business violated both the Illinois Environmental Protection Act and Illinois Pollution Control Board regulations.
Trump’s architectural monstrosity, which is located on the Chicago River, draws in millions of gallons of the river’s water every day to cool its huge HVAC systems, the Illinois Attorney General’s office said. Unlike other buildings located on the river that also engage in this practice, Trump’s hotel never acquired the proper permits to do it, nor did it conduct the necessary tests to ensure that it had a limited impact on the local wildlife, the Chicago Tribune reports. As a result, Trump’s hotel sucked in and killed a huge amount of indigenous fish and other aquatic creatures. Then-Attorney General Lisa Madigan originally sued Trump’s business over the matter back in 2018.
“The Chicago River is one of our city’s most treasured natural resources, providing opportunities for recreation and commerce,” said current Attorney General Kwame Raoul, in a statement. “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. 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.”
Gizmodo reached out to the Trump campaign for comment and will update this post if it responds.
This turn of events makes it extra hilarious that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is supporting Trump. Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer, seems to have betrayed every principle he previously held. In a pathetic move, RFK Jr. seemed to claim during his concession speech last month that Trump was the best candidate for voters who cared about stuff like healthcare and the environment, despite the fact that a second Trump term would certainly be a disaster for both of those things.
Project 2025, which is broadly viewed as the most credible policy blueprint for a second Trump administration (despite Trump’s own public disavowal of the project), is filled with attacks on federal regulatory agencies designed to protect the environment. The plan calls for the weakening of the Environmental Protection Agency and the downsizing of various weather agencies. It would also weaken a raft of regulations that currently protect Americans from pollution and environmental contagions.
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