On May 22, 2025, Sierra Club, Friends of the Chicago River, and the Illinois Attorney General reached a settlement agreement with Trump Tower (aka 401 N. Wabash), resolving a lawsuit that Trump Tower illegally built and operated a water intake structure that sucked in and killed large numbers of fish in the Chicago River since 2008.
Trump Tower is one of the largest water users of the Chicago River, drawing in millions of gallons per day for its cooling system, and it is therefore required to comply with state and federal legal requirements aimed at protecting the river and its aquatic life. When the Sierra Club discovered Trump Tower was not complying with those requirements, the Sierra Club and Friends of the Chicago River gave formal notice that it would sue Trump Tower to stop the violations.
Thereafter, the Attorney General then filed the lawsuit against Trump Tower; Sierra Club and Friends intervened; and, after years of discovery and briefing, the Cook County Circuit Court ruled in our favor last September. Specifically, the court ruled that Trump Tower had failed to accurately compute and report the rate at which the skyscraper’s cooling system withdraws water by approximately 44% for more than 10 years. The court also concluded that Trump Tower “has created and continues to create a public nuisance in violation of Illinois law,” and the intake system operates “in a manner that substantially and unreasonably interferes with the public right to fish and otherwise recreate in the Chicago River.” The judge ordered the case to trial to determine the appropriate remedy, but prior to trial, Sierra Club, Friends, and the Attorney General reached a settlement with Trump Tower.
The settlement will require Trump Tower to comply with the Clean Water Act by installing screens to reduce greatly the impact of its operations on aquatic life and flow meters to measure the amount of heated water it discharges into the river—this data will be audited by a third party and shared with all parties in the case.Trump Tower will also pay $3 million that will go toward Chicago River habitat improvement, and an additional $1.5 million civil penalty to the State of Illinois.
“The recovery of the Chicago River into the healthy heart of our downtown is a major accomplishment for the people of Chicago and the Clean Water Act,” said Sierra Club Illinois Director Jack Darin. “Trump Tower bluntly violated the Clean Water Act for years, putting the river and the wildlife that call it home at risk. We’re proud to hold these scofflaws accountable, and applaud our pro bono attorneys and the Attorney General for stepping up to protect our river and its recovery.”
The Sierra Club and Friends were represented in this case by Albert Ettinger and Rob Wienstock.