The Port of Chicago consists of several major port facilities within the city of Chicago, Illinois operated by the Illinois International Port District. The central element of the Port District, Calumet Harbor, is maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
History
In 1951, the Illinois General Assembly authorized the creation of port districts in Illinois with the Chicago Regional Port District, to oversee harbor and port development, being the first such port district created. The State of Illinois and City of Chicago had relinquished all rights and interest in the bed of Lake Calumet to the Port District, so as to enable the District to develop Calumet Harbor. The district was given the power to acquire any navigable waters of the state which were within the District area. The constitutionality of the district was challenged in People v. Chicago Regional Port District. The plaintiffs, later the appellants, challenged the district on the grounds that the sale or lease of navigable waters by the State was prohibited and the State did not have the ability to establish special corporations. In 1954, the Illinois Supreme Court rejected the appellants to be constitutional. In 1985, the Illinois International Port District was created by the Illinois International Port District Act as a political subdivision to run the Port of Chicago.
Governance
The Illinois International Port District Act creates a nine member board. Four members are appointed by the Governor of Illinois with the advice and consent of the Illinois Senate and five members are appointed by the Mayor of Chicago with the advice and consent of the Chicago City Council. The Illinois International Port District is the only port district in Illinois that may not levy taxes. By statute, the Executive Director of the IIPD is a member of the Task Force on the Conservation and Quality of the Great Lakes.
Iroquois Landing Lakefront Terminal: at the mouth of the Calumet River, it includes of warehouses and facilities on Lake Michigan with over 780,000 square meters of storage.
Lake Calumet terminal: located at the union of the Grand Calumet River and Little Calumet River inland from Lake Michigan. Includes three main transit sheds totaling over 29,000 square meters adjacent to over 900 linear meters of ship and barge berthing and is located on approximately 1,600 acres.
Grain 493,000 metric tons and bulk liquid 127 million liters storage facilities along Lake Calumet.
