Friends Urges Governor to Re-Think Sale of Damen Silos

Recently, Friends of the Chicago River, and other environmental and community leaders, sent a letter to Governor JB Pritzker urging the state to halt its pending sale of the Damen Silos, a strategically important, 23-acre site along the South Branch of the Chicago River, to the MAT Limited Partnership, a company with a dubious reputation for poor environmental management.

Read News Story 

“Riverfront reuse should be part of a master plan that recognizes the Chicago River system as the wondrous natural resource it is rather than the uncared for alleyway it used to be,” said Margaret Frisbie, Friends’ executive director. The governor should put this project on hold and open a meaningful discussion with the community about the future of the Damen Silos site for the betterment of public health and the ecological transformation of the Chicago River system. Bold leadership and creative thinking in concert with community aspirations will achieve something we can all be proud of for generations.”

Download the Letter Here

Joining Friends of the Chicago River in urging the governor to stop the sale and align the state’s approach with the “long established and widely supported vision for further transformation of the South Branch of the Chicago River” are to date: the Bridgeport Alliance, the Illinois Environmental Council, Openlands, Metropolitan Planning Council, Natural Resources Defense Council, South Branch Park Advisory Council, and Urban Rivers.