Overview
- City officials and the Chicago Park District announced the 40–43-acre Calumet Confined Disposal Facility will be transformed into public parkland on the Southeast Side as Park #608.
- The Park District will begin a community planning process in 2026 with $500,000 from the Chicago Grows Together fund to develop a framework plan.
- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates one final dredging remains before the site can be closed, capped and restored for public use.
- The Corps abandoned a proposed vertical expansion after a 2023 lawsuit led by the Environmental Law and Policy Center with Alliance of the Southeast and Friends of the Parks.
- A 2012 state law barring new landfills in Cook County requires future dredged material to go elsewhere, and officials say the timeline for the last dredge remains uncertain due to shutdown-related delays and water levels.