Mayor Rahm Emanuel revealed Thursday that he’s interested in making the Chicago River the next recreational frontier of the city.
“We have a great river, it hasn’t really been paid attention to and I want to make that change,” Emanuel said. “It’s a beautiful city and we don’t want to hide it from anybody.”
The mayor is saving the details for a later announcement, however. He expressed his river recreation interest during his first Facebook chat town hall meeting.
Earlier this year, President Barack Obama’s administration unveiled a plan to make stretches of the river safer for recreation. The project will require new equipment to scour disease-causing bacteria from 1.2 billion gallons of partially treated human and industrial waste dumped into area waterways every day.
Emanuel previously has said the river is one of the city’s key natural assets and by making its waters safe and clean it can be restored as a center for recreation.
The live online chat featured questions submitted and ranked by the public. More than 500 people sent in questions about schools, jobs, public safety and other issues through the city’s web site, Facebook and Twitter.
The mayor took part in the event from a studio at Kennedy-King College while onlookers watched him on a big screen in a school auditorium and at two other locations.
Student Loretta Young, 37, was disappointed she didn’t get to meet Emanuel.
“We have a great river, it hasn’t really been paid attention to and I want to make that change,” Emanuel said. “It’s a beautiful city and we don’t want to hide it from anybody.”
The mayor is saving the details for a later announcement, however. He expressed his river recreation interest during his first Facebook chat town hall meeting.
Earlier this year, President Barack Obama’s administration unveiled a plan to make stretches of the river safer for recreation. The project will require new equipment to scour disease-causing bacteria from 1.2 billion gallons of partially treated human and industrial waste dumped into area waterways every day.
The live online chat featured questions submitted and ranked by the public. More than 500 people sent in questions about schools, jobs, public safety and other issues through the city’s web site, Facebook and Twitter.
The mayor took part in the event from a studio at Kennedy-King College while onlookers watched him on a big screen in a school auditorium and at two other locations.
Student Loretta Young, 37, was disappointed she didn’t get to meet Emanuel.
