The amended ordinance will increase open space impact fees, encourage the installation of native plants, and raise more funds to create new green spaces that support wildlife, expand recreational opportunities, and provide additional stormwater absorption.

Proceeds from the special cruise benefit important programming at the Bridgehouse Museum including educational field trips for Chicago Public School students who learn about the river’s ecology and history and how the once abused Chicago-Calumet River system is now home to abundant wildlife including all kinds of turtles and river otters.

On the weekend of World Rivers Day, September 22, 2024, hundreds of people are gathering with Friends of the Chicago River at River Park on Chicago’s North Side for the inaugural Race for the River 5K and Family Festival. Tomorrow the Chicago River Swim is taking place in Lake Michigan.

Drennen joins us with years of experience in development and event support, serving small and medium-sized nonprofit organizations in development, finance, marketing, and operations & events.

Friends, the Sierra Club, and the Illinois Attorney General filed the lawsuit in 2018 after Friends and the Sierra Club discovered the Trump Tower cooling water intake permit violations during a routine permit review.

Be sure to tell your friends and family about a chance to win free tickets to the Grammy-nominated artists’ upcoming Chicago concert by leading a River Spirit Team at our at our Race for the River 5K and Family Festival on September 21.

Have fun and haunt the halls of our 104-year-old landmark, five-story Bridgehouse while raising money for the protection and restoration of the 156-mile Chicago-Calumet River system.

Friends has visited property owners on the North Branch of the Chicago River, Bubbly Creek, and the Little Calumet River to discuss good riparian edge management and restoration practices that address the challenges that river edge owners face.

You and your friends will eat, drink, and be merry—and all while raising money to support the education and public outreach programs of our McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum.