‘A Really Monumental Day’ for Chicago River: Clean Enough for Hundreds to Swim In

nation • 9/21/2025

More than 250 swimmers jumped into the Chicago River on Sunday morning, marking the first open-river swim in the once-polluted urban waterway in nearly a century. After a false start last year, the city approved the Chicago River Swim event earlier this summer. A local nonprofit, A Long Swim, organized the historic 2-mile race through […]

More than 250 swimmers jumped into the Chicago River on Sunday morning, marking the first open-river swim in the once-polluted urban waterway in nearly a century. After a false start last year, the city approved the Chicago River Swim event earlier t... [6962 chars]