Industrial Development and Transportation

Promoting economic growth and development in the Calumet area is key. The recent activities listed below indicate the scope and caliber of existing industry in the area, as well as the level of preparation for future growth and economic opportunities.

The largest tracts of industrial land available for development in the City of Chicago exist in Calumet.

The Lake Calumet Tax increment Financing (TIF) District, roughly 20 square miles in size, is the biggest TIF district in the city. It is estimated that the TIF will generate approximately $200 million over its 23-year life. The funds will be used for development, job training and infrastructure expenses.

Companies such as Ford Motor Company, Solo Cup and Keebler/Kellogg have invested millions of dollars to expand their current operations in the Calumet region, creating 1,100 new jobs and retaining 3,000 existing jobs.

The City and the State have committed more than $200 million toward upgrading existing roadways and constructing new roads in the Calumet Industrial Corridor.

The City has designated a Heavy Truck Route in the Calumet Industrial Corridor, which increases the allowable weight for trucks without requiring an overweight permit fee. The measure represents a savings to businesses by allowing carriers to run heavier, with fewer loads. It also serves the environment by reducing emissions and fuel consumption.

The Calumet area provides opportunities for stewardship and learning about the environment, history and culture of this unique part of Chicago. The City and the State are working with partners on projects such as the following:

A new Ford Calumet Environmental Center will be a destination in the Calumet area. The Center itself will be an environmentally friendly example of sustainable design. Visitors will enjoy 140 acres of adjacent natural habitat which includes important wetlands, free programs and interpretive exhibits. Already, Ford Motor company has provided a $6 million-grant toward construction and programming for the Center.

The Calumet Stewardship Initiative provides a menu of programs and volunteer opportunities for people of all ages, from toddlers to seniors. An example is the Calumet Biodiversity Blitz, a 24-hour inventory of Calumet area species that involved more than 100 scientists and scores of community members and volunteers.

The Calumet Area Ecological Management Strategy will guide rehabilitation of open space in the Calumet area. The strategy's goals came from an extensive public planning process. They include preserving, improving and creating habitat throughout the area, in particular for key state endangered threatened species.

The Calumet area wetlands were once one of the largest and most diverse natural wetland complexes in lower North America. Now, approximately 4,800 acres will be managed as the Calumet Open Space Reserve.

The City of Chicago has acquired the 117-acre Van Vlissingen Prairie, two-thirds of the 195-acre Indian Ridge Marsh complex, and is in the process of acquiring 460 acres at Hegewisch and Big Marsh.

Various partners are targeted as the long-term owner of most of these newly acquired lands. Meanwhile, the City and various partners and stakeholders are developing environmental and ecological rehabilitation plans to ensure that the land is made safe for birds and other species that reside there.

The Forest Preserve District of Cook County owns over 1,000 acres in this area including the pristine Burnham Prairie, Calumet City Prairie, Burnham Greenway, Beaubien Preserve Addition, Eggers Grove Beaubien Woods and Powderhorn Lake.

Chicago's Calumet region is unique in the city, demonstrating the vital relationship between community, livelihood and environment. Calumet is home to bustling communities and industrial centers, testament to a proud and storied history. The region also supports an astonishing diversity of plant and animal life, in one of the largest and most ecologically significant complexes of wetlands in the Midwest.

During the industrial boom of the mid-1800's, the Calumet region produced steel, brick, glass, paint and petroleum products - the building blocks of a growing nation. Many industrial giants made their names in the Calumet region, including U.S Steel, Wisconsin Steel, Pullman Palace Car Company, Youngstown Sheet and Tube, Ford Motor Co. and American Shipbuilding.

Over 200 species of birds are known to visit or stay in the Calumet area every year.