Port of Chicago
The Port of Chicago consists of several major port facilities within the city of Chicago, Illinois operated by the Illinois International Port District (formerly known as the Chicago Regional Port District). The central element of the Port District, Calumet Harbor, is maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.[1]
| Port of Chicago | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country |  |
| Location | Chicago, Illinois |
| Coordinates | 41.733°N 87.528°W |
| Details | |
| Opened | 1959 |
| Executive Director | Clayton Harris III |
| Statistics | |
| Annual cargo tonnage | 894,832 |
| Website www.iipd.com | |
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.[2] 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.[3] The district was given the power to acquire any navigable waters of the state which were within the District area.[3] 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.[3]
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.[4]
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.[5] The Illinois International Port District is the only port district in Illinois that may not levy taxes.[6] By statute, the Executive Director of the IIPD is a member of the Task Force on the Conservation and Quality of the Great Lakes.[7]
Reform efforts and proposals
In 2008, the Chicago Civic Federation proposed the dissolution of the Illinois International Port District. Under their plan, port operations and related lands would transfer to the City of Chicago; transfer of open land to the Forest Preserve District of Cook County; and transfer Harborside International Golf Center to the control of the Chicago Park District.[8]
During the 100th Illinois General Assembly, Elaine Nekritz filed House Bill 2502 which, if signed into law, would have replaced the district’s current governing board with the Chicago City Council. The bill was referred to the Rules Committee and died at the end of the legislative session.[9]
Facilities
- Iroquois Landing Lakefront Terminal: at the mouth of the Calumet River, it includes 190 acres (0.77 km2) of warehouses and facilities on Lake Michigan with over 780,000 square meters (8.39 million square feet) of storage.
- Lake Calumet terminal: located at the union of the Grand Calumet River and Little Calumet River 6 miles (9.7 km) inland from Lake Michigan. Includes three main transit sheds totaling over 29,000 square meters (315,000 square feet) adjacent to over 900 linear meters (3000 linear feet) of ship and barge berthing and is located on approximately 1,600 acres.
- Grain 493,000 metric tons (14 million bushels) and bulk liquid 127 million liters (800,000 barrels) storage facilities along Lake Calumet.
Foreign Trade Zone #22
The Illinois International Port district also operates Foreign Trade Zone #22, which extends 97 km (60 mi) from Chicago's city limits.[10] As of 2010, the zone had four subzones for Abbott Laboratories, Michelin, Sony, and Crate & Barrel.[11] Baxter is now also included in the zone.
References
- "Calumet Harbor and River". US Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- Groesch, Lisa; Roberts, Sandra, eds. (March 2003). Legislator's Guide to Local Governments in Illinois: Special Districts (PDF) (Report). Springfield, Illinois: Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
- Sapientiae, Via, ed. (1959). "The Port District: General Considerations of an Important Type of Municipal Corporation, with Emphasis on Illinois Districts". DePaul Law Review. 9 (1): 74–80. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- Holland, William G., ed. (July 1, 2013). "Management Audit of the Illinois International Port District" (PDF). Springfield, Illinois: Illinois Auditor General. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- "Illinois International Port District Act". Springfield, Illinois: Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- Bembridge, Kevin; Charles, Jennifer; Cole, Cornette; McCarthy, Natasha; Silva, Mercera (April 25, 2019). Banks, Vecoya (ed.). "Individual State Descriptions 2017 - Illinois" (PDF). 2017 Census of Governments. Suitland, Maryland: United States Census Bureau. pp. 83–92. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- Gruber, Amanda (August 1, 2018). "Task Force on the Conservation and Quality of the Great Lakes". Publication 425: State Board and Commission Descriptions (PDF). Illinois Legislative Research Unit. p. 104. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
- Botstein, Clara; Valentine, Lise; Calia, Roland (June 30, 2008). "A Call for the Dissolution and Restructuring of the Illinois International Port District". Chicago Civic Federation. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- Nekritz, Elaine (February 7, 2017). "House Bill 2502 IL International Port District". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- McGilvray, Andrew, ed. (November 1, 2018). "79th Annual Report of the Foreign-Trade Zones Board to the Congress of the United States" (PDF). Foreign Trade Zones Board. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- Griswold, Daniel (June 25, 2012). "The Impact of Foreign Trade Zones on the 50 states & Puerto Rico" (PDF). National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
