CHICAGO—Where the Calumet River meets the shores of Lake Michigan sits 43 acres of lakefront property, a seemingly perfect location for Southeast Side residents to enjoy.

But for nearly 40 years, this has been the site of a toxic waste dump, storing over 1.2 million cubic yards of pollution-laced sediment dredged from local waterways.

The location was meant to become a public park once the landfill was full. As it hit capacity, its operator, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, instead announced plans to vertically expand the Chicago Area Confined Disposal Facility to extend its life another 20 years.

That kicked off a new front in the decades-long battle by residents to move the landfill into its park era—and this year, with help from advocates and state officials , they halted the expans

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