Illinois Ratings Indicator Type Info Status Beach Access 0  0  Water Quality 6   3   Beach Erosion 0  -  Erosion Response -  0  Beach Fill 0  -  Shoreline Structures 0  0  Beach Ecology 0  -  Surfing Areas 0  0  Website 0  -  Explain this chart

Illinois 

Summary

In 2004 the State of Illinois renewed efforts to gain approval for a Coastal Zone Management Program. This followed initial work, including a preliminary program draft, completed by the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Division of Water Resources several years ago. From 1974 through 1978, the State received CZMA Section 305 Program Development Grants of over $1.7 million. NOAA began working with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) in 2004 to identify and receive input from its various coastal constituents; articulate major issues the Coastal Program would address; determine a vision for the future of the Illinois shoreline and its communities; identify the authority the State has to manage coastal land and water development; and identify support from other state agencies and/or regional councils.

The purpose of the Coastal Program will be to enhance the State’s role in planning for and managing its natural and cultural resources in the coastal region. The IDNR has been designated lead agency for developing a coastal program for Illinois. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of the Lieutenant Governor are assisting the IDNR in this effort. The IDNR held open houses/workshops on developing a Coastal Program for Illinois in the fall of 2005. Through a series of workshops, the State is working with local governments, interest groups, and interested citizens to establish a coastal program boundary, identify all areas of particular concern or areas meriting special attention, and establish a framework and process for program administration. The workshops are being used as a forum for input and discussion for inclusion in the coastal management program document.


Contact Information for Illinois's Developing Coastal Management Program
The Web site for the Illinois Coastal Management Program (CMP) is http://www.dnr.state.il.us/owr/CMP/


The CMP will be part of the Department of Natural Resources Office of Water Resources
http://www.dnr.state.il.us/owr/

Key IDNR staff assigned to developing the ICMP and preparing the necessary documents for program approval are:

• Frank Pisani, P.E., ICMP Program Development Manager - Frank is the Program Development Engineer within the IDNR, Office of Water Resources.
  Email: FRANK.PISANI@illinois.gov
• Michael J. Chrzastowski, ICMP Coastal Resource Coordinator - Mike is the Senior Coastal Geologist within the IDNR, Illinois State Geological Survey.
  Email: chrzasto@isgs.uiuc.edu
  

Indicators

(+) The existing 26 miles of Chicago’s public lakeshore park system create a linear park expanse that is unrivaled around the world for its beauty and public accessibility. For all the beaches and park shoreline in Chicago, there is unrestricted public access for residents and non-residents.
(+) The President's FY2007 budget for beach fill and related projects includes $10,000,000 construction funding for the Chicago shoreline.
(+) Chicago is tightening limits on industrial water pollution for the first time in more than a decade. Until the new restrictions were enacted in April 2006, the city had no limits on how much arsenic, molybdenum and chlorine could be discharged into its wastewater treatment system.
(+) Due to improvements to the level of sewage treatment and to completion of portions of the Deep Tunnel project, more than 60 species of fish can now be found swimming in the Chicago River, compared to five in 1970.

(0) For the 2006 swimming season, Chicago instituted a new warning system for beach health advisories and beach closures. Formerly, beaches were closed when the E. coli bacteria level reached 235/100 ml for two days in a row. With the new system, beaches remain open with a yellow warning flag if the levels are above 235 and are only closed with a red flag if levels are above 1,000.

(-) Illinois is the last of the 35 eligible coastline states to join the Coastal Zone Management Program administered through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
(-) Chicago released an estimated 34.5 billion gallons of rain-diluted sewage into local streams during the period from 2000 to 2006. Although these streams drain away from Lake Michigan into the Mississippi River, during a few severe storms since 2000 about 2.9 billion gallons of river water with and unknown volume of sewage mixed in was released into Lake Michigan.

Victories

• Surfing Is Not A Crime in Chicago!
  After 9+ months of letters, emails, phone calls and meetings, activists from Surfrider Foundation's Lake Michigan Chapter succeeded in making surfing officially legal at 4 beaches in the City of Chicago!
  • Memorial Day - Labor Day - Montrose Beach and 57th St. Beach
  • Labor Day - Memorial Day (off season) - Montrose, 57th, Osterman & Rainbow Beaches are open to surfing at your own risk.
  More information on the rules is available here.