On November 27, Geoffrey Baer from WTTW-Chicago debuted a new show and website that will bring you to the Chicago River, the Riverwalk and beyond. 

Friends is thrilled to receive funding from the Chi-Cal Rivers Fund as one of five community-driven projects to help create a healthier river, habitat, and communities.  Green space, wildlife habitat and stormwater management are essential to the vitality of our river systems—and to the health and safety of the communities around them.

Friends of the Chicago River  will reconnect Mill Creek to the Cal-Sag Channel by removing two shelf structures which block fish passage from the Cal-Sag Channel, opening up 2.5 miles of high-quality stream habitat to benefit more than 17 species of fish.

Here's a snapshop of the collective impact of this funding:

More and more people aren't looking away anymore when the Chicago River is a strange two-toned contrast of teal and brown. There's a shift in our mindset and they want to know "What's happening?" Read this editorial by the Chicago Sun-Times.

Friends of the Chicago River has been working to understand what happened over the weekend that resulted in the dramatic color difference between the North Branch and the Main Stem of the Chicago River between Lake Michigan and Wolf Point.  It appears that the heavy rain increased turbidity and the amount of stormwater pollution that ended up in the river.

See the 4:30 p.m. Monday update