Environmental group calls for halt to demolition of Chicago’s Damen Silos

Environmental group calls for halt to demolition of Chicago’s Damen Silos
By
Natalie McMillan

Updated on: October 13, 2025 / 10:31 AM CDT / CBS Chicago

An environmental rights organization was calling Monday for an immediate halt to the demolition of the Damen Silos on Chicago’s Southwest Side.

The organization is demanding that the City of Chicago address community concerns around the public health and environmental impacts of the Damen Silos’ demolition, as well as the planned demolition of parts of the Fisk Generating Station — a now-inactive coal-fired power plant in the Pilsen neighborhood.

The environmental activists held a news conference Monday near Canalport Avenue and Cermak Road, near the old generating station. At the news conference, Citlalli Trujillo, president of the Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization, emphasized the costs of pollution on the health of many Chicago residents.

“As a lifelong resident of the Southwest Side, having allergies, feeling dizzy, having headaches, and having a hard time breathing is not out of the ordinary, and it doesn’t stop at the headaches. It leads to heart conditions, lung complications, and neurological complications,” Trujillo said.

Trujillo said the demolition of the silos was stopped for a few days to create a new dust control plan, but she said the plan did not involve any community input — and involved only the Chicago Department of Public Health and Heneghan Wrecking Company.

“The community is left to question the potential short- and long-term health effects on residents,” said Trujillo.

Also speaking at the news conference, environmental activist Leila Mendez said the Fisk Generating Station “poisoned” Pilsen for more than 100 years — and documented health problems she herself has suffered.

“This is not just about bricks and concrete,” Mendez said. “It’s about justice. It’s about accountability. It’s about life and death.”

The Damen Silos, located at 2860 S. Damen Ave. on the side of the Stevenson Expressway, dated back to 1906, but were abandoned after an accident in 1977. The Chicago Department of Buildings said the demolition of the structures would be “environmentally complex” — with concerns about dust, air quality, and water preservation.

Despite a years-long battle by preservationists and community groups to save the silos, demolition began in July.

But earlier this month, the city issued a stop-work order for the demolition of the silos. Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th) said this was to investigate excessive dust noticed at the site by city inspectors.

The demolition has since resumed.

At the Fisk Generating Station, a demolition notice was issued late last month for storage tanks and silos, but not for the power station itself. The power station has been inactive since 2012, though an oil-generating station remains active at the site.