In the fall, bridges along the Main and South branches of the Chicago River are lifted to allow boats to move into winter storage facilities. The scheduled bridge lifts start this week and run through mid-November, the Chicago Department of Transportation announced.

It was all part of an event called the Big Jump, a new addition to this year’s open water Chicago River Swim. The jump is a way to take part in the river swim celebration without having to go the one- or two-mile distance of the main event.

A researcher at Shedd Aquarium tracked a single bluegill traveling nearly 7.5 miles in a single day, or the equivalent of a 52-mile swim for a human.

Organizers have announced an addition to the upcoming open water Chicago River Swim: the Big Jump.

Special Olympics Illinois organizes competitions across the state for people with disabilities and special needs. It costs $10 to sponsor a “lone duck,” which will feed an athlete lunch at a competition, and $30 for a “quack pack” of six ducks, which supplies gold medals for a team.

Residents in several North Side neighborhoods reported a foul stench on Tuesday, described by some as “skunk”-like but mostly sewage.

After a successful inaugural event in 2025, the Chicago River Swim is coming back in September, officials announced.

Birders inadvertently provided researchers at Loyola University with a key bit of documentation related to invasive species and microplastics.

The Chicago Fire has committed to enhanced bird protections for its proposed new stadium. Does this represent a tipping point for bird-friendly design in Chicago?

It's been 125 years since the Chicago River was famously reversed by creating the 28-mile Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Voting is open to give the canal a new, less sewage-adjacent name.

The Chicago River has proven itself fit for swimming. But what about raising a family? No one’s ever tallied the number of larval fish in the waterway, until now.

The Chicago River Swim is an open water swim event organized by Douglas McConnell, the co-founder of A Long River Swim, which organizes open water swimming events to raise awareness and funds in the fight against ALS.

The event will mark the first open water swim in the Chicago River in nearly 100 years, according to organizers.

Two weeks after announcing a plan to build a privately funded $650 million stadium on the South Branch of the Chicago River, the Chicago Fire has released new renderings of the proposed arena.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has announced a $4.8 million settlement with Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago, resolving environmental violations related to the building’s cooling system, which uses water drawn from the Chicago River.

We asked experts what to do when you see something in the Chicago River that doesn’t belong there.