Current Highlights

Chicago River Blue 2012 Call for Entries! Submit your application for the 2012 Blue Ribbon Awards by March 8.

Twilight at Trump a Grand Success

This week 75 guests enjoyed a twilight cocktail party with delicious hors d’oeuvres and river views at Twilight at Trump 2012. The wonderful event celebrated the generous ways that Chicago’s corporate citizens support Friends and the Chicago River.

The event’s co-hosts were Jill Allread, Public Communications, Inc.; Colm O’Callaghan, Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago; Geoff Deigan, WRD Environmental; Phil Enquist, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Mark Falanga, Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc.; Marilyn Labkon, General Iron; Deborah Korompilas, BMO Harris; Marty Ozinga, Ozinga Ready Mix Concrete; David Snyder, Crain’s Chicago Business; and Greg Van Schaack, Hines. Merchandise Mart Properties President Mark Falanga encouraged attendance at the Big Fish Ball.

Thank you to Trump and our co-hosts for making it a terrific evening!

Stopping Carp! What could separation look like?

In January, the Great Lakes Commission and Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLC-GLSLCI) released “Restoring the Natural Divide”, that investigates options for separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds to stop the transfer of invasive species. The study came in response to concern over the migration of Asian carp from the Mississippi and Illinois rivers and their potential for using the Chicago River system to move in to Lake Michigan.

From the beginning Friends has been against closing the locks and we are pleased see scenarios that are away from the lakefront. Any prudent plan for separation must not only eliminate invasive species transfer but also protect and promote current and potential river uses, improve access, and above all support the continued enhancement of water quality both up and downstream of any projected barrier site.

For more on Friends’ position, click here.

Celebrate Chicago River Day 20/20

Join Friends of the Chicago River in celebrating 20 years of Chicago River Day and our early visionaries who could see a bright future for the river through a 20-day whirlwind of events, activities, and actions that commemorate this critical milestone. Events begin April 23 through May 12, 2012 and culminate in Chicago River Day.

Intended to appeal to people of all ages across the watershed, Chicago River Day 20/20 events range from family-friendly fish projects and habitat days to temporary river tattoos, a river-based scavenger hunt, and a contest for four to stay overnight in Friends’ historic McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum on the Michigan Avenue Bridge. Most events are free and open to the public. For event information, visit www.chicagoriverday20-20.org or contact Meshawn Ayala at (312) 939-0490, ext. 18. Sponsorships are available.

The full calendar of events will be posted March 28.

Are You a Friend of the Chicago River?

Thanks to thousands of river enthusiasts and supporters, Friends of the Chicago River has been at the forefront of the river’s recovery and renaissance since 1979 and as a result the river is becoming healthier and more accessible every day. If YOU haven’t joined as a member yet to help, please consider a gift to help keep our river blue.

• $250 underwrites a two-hour field trip for K-12 students on an unforgettable voyage of discovery
• $100 covers vital supplies for those kids, such as an aquatic net or pair of hip waders so they can right in the river
• $35 purchases 30 Prairie Blazing Star plants for a rain garden which will help increase biodiversity and reduce flooding

Please join in and help us today!

Action Plan for the Chicago River

Getting Specific: Strategies for a cleaner, more vibrant Chicago River

The report outlines the future needs of the Chicago River and offers recommendations for river improvement. It is the culmination of over 50 subject-area experts who participated in one of six charrettes and is now available here. (3MB PDF)

In addition, Friends’ Chicago River Matrix (88K PDF), which outlines public access, water quality, aquatic habitat, riverbank habitat, riverbank naturalization and land protection for each stretch of the river, is also available.

Victory is Ours

In November 2011, US EPA approved the new recreational use standards for the Chicago and Calumet rivers, the final step in Friends over-11-year effort to improve water quality for the people who use the river.

Thank you to everyone who called, wrote, emailed, and spoke with the Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) over the last three years. In August, they approved the rule for new and improved recreational use standards and incorporated US EPA’s call for swimming standards in many reaches of our river system. This great news means that thousands of people will be protected in and on the water at last.

This follows closely on the heals of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Commissioners’ vote for sewage effluent disinfection at their Northside and Calumet plants which means we are well on our way to a cleaner river.

This new approval is only one section of a four docket rule making before the IPCB for the Chicago River system. The final deadline for comments to the Illinois Pollution Control Board on sewage effluent disinfection are due November 10. Find out more about that and what we need to do to protect fish at Clean Water and Healthy Fish.

Get Your Group on the River Next Summer

Experience the beautiful fall in Chicago through a river outing with Friends. Call now and we can tailor a restoration day in the woods for you and your friends, families, or co-workers. Our wonderful one-day restoration days give everyone a chance to be a part of the river’s renewal.

Contact Meshawn Ayala for a work day next spring, summer and fall.

Discover the Chicago River from Your Window

Learn about boats, barges, bridges and wildlife through Friends’ illustrated river guide: The Chicago River from Your Window. A complete river enthusiast’s source, the river guide has detailed illustrations of local wildlife and fish, photos of boats and details of bridges. Buy a copy now to learn more about the Chicago River.

Friends’ Offices

Friends’ address is:
28 East Jackson, Suite 1800
Chicago, IL 60604-2272
(312) 939-0490