Trump administration wants to cut Illinois out of Great Lakes carp plan

The Trump administration announced plans to put Michigan officials in charge of a $1.15 billion Chicago-area river barrier designed to keep invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes.

In a statement posted Thursday on X, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Adam Telle said the agency was “aggressively moving” on the Brandon Road Interbasin Project near Joliet. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers added in a news release that management would move from its Rock Island District to its Detroit district.

“President Trump has always been a champion of keeping invasive Asian carp out of the Great Lakes,” wrote Telle. “Our partners in the Great Lake states can’t allow one state to have undue influence and use it to play more games.”

Telle also accused Illinois of being an “unreliable partner, delinquent on its payments and real estate commitments.”

Governor JB Pritzker responded to the social media post, saying that “Illinois has upheld our commitments. Trump must stop this political stunt and start releasing the funds, get the project moving again, and protect the Great Lakes.” He warned that Illinois was prepared to take the issue to the court, adding that “Illinois owns the land the Brandon Road Project will be built on — Trump cannot just decide to give it away.”

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• This report was published in partnership with the Chicago Sun-Times. For more, visit chicago.suntimes.com.