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.

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

Chicago was once a swamp. In some places, it still is. But will climate change undo wetland restoration efforts?

A new notification system is being proposed at access points along the Chicago River to warn recreational users when untreated wastewater has entered the waterway.

The Trump International Hotel and Tower has been found in violation of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act and deemed a “public nuisance” to the Chicago River.

Organizers of the Chicago River Swim have taken the city’s suggestion and will hold the open-water swim event in Lake Michigan on Sept. 22, with the goal of proving themselves for a 2025 plunge in the river.

“One of the biggest things about litter is it makes people think that the river is more polluted than it is,” said Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River.

The nonprofit A Long Swim is planning an open water swim event in the Chicago River this fall. Proceeds will support ALS research and Learn to Swim, a program that teaches children in underserved communities how to swim.

“Chicago owns the most outfalls that discharge into the river system, and controlling what comes out of them is essential to reach our shared vision for a fishable-swimmable river that is accessible to everyone,” said Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River.

Any development on the Chicago River should address concerns about climate resilience, biodiversity, sustainability and pollution, advocates say. "It would be an enormous mistake to not take that seriously," said Margaret Frisbie, of Friends of the Chicago River.

“Any riverfront improvement opportunity should be part of a master plan that recognizes the Chicago River system as the wondrous natural resource it is rather than the uncared for alleyway it used to be,” said Friends of the Chicago River.

Members of the SailGP international yacht racing league have converged on Chicago for an upcoming competition, but before taking their catamarans onto Lake Michigan this weekend, the athletes piled into canoes and helped install native aquatic plants along the Chicago River's banks.

In its 30-year history, Friends of the Chicago River’s annual cleanup has evolved from a focus on litter to invasive species. An invasive crayfish pulled from the river over the weekend highlights the work to be done.

Artist Ben Miller cast a portrait of the Chicago River using just fishing gear. Here’s the big reveal.