This browser does not support the Video element.
CHICAGO - The Trump administration announced this week it would move the management of a $1.15 billion project to prevent the invasive Asian carp out of the Great Lakes from Illinois to Michigan, which Gov. JB Pritzker called a "political stunt."
What they're saying:
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Thursday in a news release it was still moving forward with the construction of deterrents near Joliet to block the path of the carp, but would move management of the project to Michigan.
Adam Telle, the assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, said the management will come from Michigan because Illinois "has been an unreliable partner, delinquent on its payments and real estate commitments."
"Our partners in the Great Lake States can’t allow one state to have undue influence and use it to play more games," Telle said. "This is great news for every state in the region, including Illinois."
The other side:
Pritzker refuted the claim.
"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," the governor said in a statement posted on social media. "Illinois owns the land the Brandon Road Project will be built on — Trump cannot just decide to give it away. If he breaks legally-binding agreements, then Illinois will take action."
The backstory:
The multi-year project aims to keep Asian carp from moving into Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes.
The carp can exceed 100 pounds, spread rapidly and could be detrimental to native fish populations and the $20 billion fishing and boating industries in the region.
When Trump returned to the White House last year, his administration’s threats to cut off federal funding prompted Pritzker to temporarily pause the project. The two sides later appeared to have agreed to move forward with the project.
Decades ago, the carp were used in the southern parts of the country to reduce nuisance vegetation, but the fish began to reproduce and spread north via the Mississippi River.
Over the last two decades, the federal government built electric barriers along the Des Plaines River, including near suburban Romeoville, to keep the carp from reaching Lake Michigan. Commercial fishermen have also been tapped to catch the carp to keep the population down.