Ready. Set. Jump!
In between Dearborn and Clark, along the Chicago river: The Big Jump. A rare, sanctioned opportunity to leap, cannonball or backflip into the Chicago River.
One of the first to take the plunge, DJ White Shadow and Former Chicago Bear Charles Peanut Tillman.
"It was a little colder than I thought it was, but it was great," said Paul Davis, otherwise down as DJ White Shadow, who said he took the plunge for a the cause.
"Anytime we have a chance to do something good. A very near and dear experience for me is children learning how to swim. I love raising money for ALS as well," he said.
Tillman said he signed up to jump but not necessary swim.
"I was under the impression that I just had to jump in and get my black butt out. I didn't know I had to swim 40 meters," he laughed. "I feel very refreshed. I'm glad I did it"
The Big jump revived an event first held in 2017 which celebrated the progress in restoring the river quality.
Dr. Abhilasha Shrestha with the UIC School of Public Health was in charge of testing the water to make sure it was safe to jump in the water.
"We've been testing the water for the last three weeks. This morning we did one more test and it was below the threshold so it's all a okay. It's a great moment because people have worked really hard years and years of advocacy cleaning up the river and people finally being able to jump, we feel very proud," she smiled.
"We're celebrating the swim, we are celebrating the Chicago River's remarkable environmental turnaround in the heart of the city."
The event was founded by marathon swimmer Doug McConnell, who founded the nonprofit A Long Swim with his sister Ellen McConnell Blakeman to raise funds for ALS research after their father died from the disease. Blakeman was later diagnosed with and died from the disease herself.
"Some people called it a crazy idea to be able to put swimmers back into the Chicago River. You can't imagine the turnaround this river has over the last 50 years," said McConnell.
So far, A Long Swim has raised more than $3.5 million for research.
DJ White Shadow, Congressman Mike Quigley, Charles "Peanut" Tillman get ready to take the Big Jump
Lisa Fielding/WBBM Newsradio
"We're here because of the work of the Chicago Friends of The River. Let there be no mistake. We're not swimming today and people aren't swimming in Lake Michigan if it wasn't for the work of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. We helped get the money for reservoirs but the work isn't done as we battle climate change and all of it's effects. Raising money for ALS is also so important. ITs Events like this that remind us that there's much more that unites us then divides us." said Representative Mike Quigley, (D) 5th District.
The second annual Chicago River Swim is on Sunday, where 750 people will swim the one or two mile course.
The inaugural Chicago River Swim was held in 2025, with 263 people taking part in the first organized open-water swim in the river in 98 years.
For more information about the event, click here.
A Carole Feuerman sculpture looks over the "Big Jump" event along the Chicago River
Lisa Fielding/WBBM Newsradio
