“‘Hog Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat…
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders’
-Carl Sandburg, ‘Chicago’
“When Sandburg wrote those lines, dozens of grain silos lined the banks of the Chicago River. These were the city’s original skyscrapers, feats of human ingenuity storing much of the agricultural wealth of the Midwest. Today, nearly all are gone. One of Chicago’s few remaining grain silo structures can be found at a site owned by the State of Illinois on the South Branch of the river near the Damen Avenue bridge. But now the State is attempting to sell the site. If the sale goes through, the silos will almost certainly be demolished and replaced with a bland, anonymous big-box warehouse.
“These historic structures should be preserved for future generations and the surrounding twenty-four acre water front site opened to the public. Establishing a park would provide badly needed green space and river access for nearby residents. It would protect wildlife habitat and create connections with cycling and walking trails. It could also act as a catalyst for the long term economic vitality of the area as well as creating opportunities for education, research and remediation on the long neglected and abused South Branch of the Chicago River. Please sign and share this petition to urge Governor Pritzker to reconsider the sale!”