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Following multiple incidents, some fatal, the water safety advocacy group says that being a strong swimmer is not enough, especially when fatigue and the heat are factored in.
It’s been a busy summer so far for emergency responders who operate on Lake Michigan and other bodies of water that have been packed especially during this week’s heat wave.
Summer is nearing and as it does, doctors at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago and other experts shared tips for water safety and how to protect kids from accidental drownings.
During the CBS News Chicago Day of Giving with the American Red Cross, learning about the importance of water safety.
When you think of water, you think of fun in the pool and in the lake. But the American Red Cross and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago say safety is the first thing that should come to mind.
One minute they’re calm, and the next, a current is forming under the surface, which can be dangerous for even the strongest of swimmers.
Her mother tells CBS News Chicago it serves as a horrible reminder of the importance of life jackets.
In the northern suburbs, fire departments, like Winthrop Harbor and Zion, say they are responding to water rescues but lack the resources to do so properly.
Safety on the lake is an ongoing concern as extreme heat continue in Chicago.
Firefighters responded to a boat fire on Lake Michigan on Sunday, a day after multiple water rescues and one death. Shardaa Gray reports.
On Father's Day, Lake Michigan took a dangerous turn for a father and his teenage sons out for a jet ski ride. As Jermont Terry reports, video showed a father and sons in the water after the jet ski flipped.
Issues with unsafe drinking water from Aqua Illinois have now expanded to University Park, Illinois, as Governors State University sent out an alert to its community Monday morning.
Officials say it is most important to avoid putting oneself in dangerous situations in the first place.
The goal was to show swimmers what to do if things go wrong.
As Chicago pools start to open, it's time to get some water safety tips from Goldfish Swim School.
Making the Chicago River a healthy, biodiverse and climate resilient lifeline through the city is the focus of many groups and city officials working with new standards, permits, and an eye on climate change.
With Labor Day in the books, lifeguards will no longer be on duty at Chicago beaches and safety advocates are stressing vigilance.
After a rash of drownings and tragedies this summer, there's been a renewed push to keep everyone safe in the waters of Lake Michigan. A beach hazard warning was in effect over the last few days because of dangerous conditions. Lifeguards were keeping people close to the shore or out of the water altogether.
Under state law, all children living in a high-risk ZIP code must be tested for lead exposure at 12, 24, and 36 months of age.
The island home to Hawaii's capital may be surrounded by ocean, but years-long drought conditions, tourist activities and contamination are jeopardizing the island's only source of freshwater.
A group of water safety experts, and friends and families of drowning victims, pushed Wednesday to require life ring stations on piers and public access points along Lake Michigan in Indiana.
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed new rules last week calling for all lead pipes to be removed in a decade.
With several high-profile drownings recently, water safety is top of mind. Kris Habermehl has some reminders from Chopper 2.
Chicago right-hander Jameson Taillon allowed four runs and five hits over 4 1/3 innings in his first big league start since June 7.
Benintendi was hitless in 10 at-bats against deGrom before hitting a two-out, 2-2 pitch to right field to give the AL Central-leading White Sox a 5-2 lead.
Though not to be compared with last Thursday, there's now a concern that without proper filtration indoors, the harmful air can stick around much longer.
Three-quarters of a century later, it's still drawing crowds as a classic summer tradition in the age of streaming.
Police say a man and a woman were last seen speaking with the victim before the shooting.
Parents of students in the Chicago Public Schools system had a chance Monday to weigh in on the next budget.
Local leaders and housing advocates on Monday called on Chicago's City Hall to push back on a so-called FAIR Ordinance, which would scale back some of the plans in Mayor Brandon Johnson's Protect Renters Ordinance.
This is the first time in more than 150 years that a vice president's family had a child while in office.
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez ended her Democratic primary campaign for Wisconsin governor Friday, citing financial problems she said would distract from an election Democrats need to win.
President Trump delivered a speech on election security Thursday night at the White House. Here are the facts behind some of his claims.
Chicago remained the most bed bug-treated city in the country, according to Orkin's latest annual rankings covering a full year of residential and commercial treatment data.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul this week warned residents cleaning up from last month's storms to be on the lookout for scams.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday signed several new consumer protections into law, including a ban on junk fees.
CBS News Chicago has learned that Illinois home insurance premiums are not only higher than the nation's average, but going up faster too.
As an alternative to legalizing video gambling terminals citywide, Bally's offered to open slot machine lounges at O'Hare and Midway, saying the move would replace the $6.8 million the city budgeted from VGTs.
A lettuce supplier to fast-food giant Taco Bell has been linked to a nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened thousands of people, the CDC said.
Chicago just barely made the top 20 in the American College of Sports Medicine's 2026 ranking of the country's fittest cities.
In a major turnaround in the opioid crisis, overdose deaths are falling across Chicago and Cook County.
The north Chicago suburb of Glenview became the latest Illinois municipality this week to confirm mosquitoes testing positive for the West Nile virus this year.
Environmental and community groups are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to act on a petition challenging U.S. Steel Gary Works operating permit renewal.
Illinois American Water and Aqua Illinois are both seeking rate increases that would raise monthly bills by as much as $28, while their parent companies seek regulatory approval to merge — a deal a consumer watchdog says would give one company control of nearly all regulated water customers in the state.
The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from several states secured a right-to-repair settlement Wednesday with agriculture equipment giant Deere & Co. — commonly known as John Deere — that requires the company to let farmers and independent shops fix their own equipment.
Chicago Soul Café opened Monday at 6248 S. St. Lawrence Ave.
The Chicago Bears this weekend said they are assessing land at Wolf Lake Terminals in Hammond, Indiana, for a possible new stadium.
As an alternative to legalizing video gambling terminals citywide, Bally's offered to open slot machine lounges at O'Hare and Midway, saying the move would replace the $6.8 million the city budgeted from VGTs.
Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" is the first film shot entirely on 70mm IMAX cameras, and Cinemark Seven Bridges in Woodridge is 1 of roughly 30 theaters nationwide equipped to show it that way.
Brenda Fricker won an Academy Award for 1989's "My Left Foot," played the Pigeon Lady in "Home Alone 2" and appeared in "A Time to Kill" and "So I Married an Axe Murderer."
The actor's agent said he was providing more information following news reports "which contain inaccuracies and outright falsehoods."
New Zealand actor Sam Neill, known for "Jurassic Park" and "The Piano," died Monday at 78, his family says.
The 46th Taste of Chicago is cashless for the first time, accepting only credit cards, with a drone and fireworks show scheduled for approximately 9:15 p.m. Friday near Buckingham Fountain.
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, the Illinois Literacy Foundation and the Chicago Cubs are launching Illinois Reads Together, a statewide summer reading challenge that gives students who complete their local library’s summer reading program the chance to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field.
A study out of Penn State followed participants with obesity who ate a single avocado daily for six months. Avocado consumption made positive changes to the size of LDL, known as bad cholesterol particles, even if the overall cholesterol numbers stayed the same.
Chief meteorologist Albert Ramon is tracking the latest in First Alert Weather.
The theater is one of only about 300 drive-ins still operating across the country.
The new initiative is meant to help drivers on the autism spectrum and promote more safer and effective traffic stops. It will start on Jan. 1, 2027.
Police say a man and a woman were last seen speaking with the victim before the shooting.
A Chicago police SWAT officer was shot in the stomach while responding to a hostage situation after a woman was shot and critically injured Monday morning in the Albany Park neighborhood.
Though not to be compared with last Thursday, there's now a concern that without proper filtration indoors, the harmful air can stick around much longer.
Three-quarters of a century later, it's still drawing crowds as a classic summer tradition in the age of streaming.
A musician with The Elgin Symphony on Monday shared their talents with young performers in Syria.
Neighbors in the Avalon Park neighborhood said their community has been plagued by squatters, weeds, rats, and water leaks – all thanks to an abandoned home that's been sitting vacant for years.
Chicago has been feeling the heat this week, with highs in the 90s the past five days, but officials are making moves to cool off some of the hottest parts of the city, specifically Chicago Park District fieldhouses where many turn to keep cool.
Gene Rush survived throat cancer, but he didn't survive a trip to the Porter County Jail over 4th of July weekend. His family said jail staff failed to provide lifesaving medical care.
Haze from Canadian wildfire smoke that has settled in Chicago on Thursday is directly connected to climate change, according to experts, who said days like this could be more problematic moving forward.
A pair of jewelry importers have been charged in federal court in Chicago with smuggling millions of dollars in gold jewelry into the U.S. to avoid taxes, schemes uncovered by a federal task force that has surpassed $1 billion in recoveries and penalties over the past year.
Chicago right-hander Jameson Taillon allowed four runs and five hits over 4 1/3 innings in his first big league start since June 7.
Benintendi was hitless in 10 at-bats against deGrom before hitting a two-out, 2-2 pitch to right field to give the AL Central-leading White Sox a 5-2 lead.
Spain topped Argentina in extra time, one-nil, after playing scoreless for 90 minutes at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Jordin Canada didn't score a point in the first half. With 0.3 seconds on the clock and the game tied at 91, she scored the biggest basket of the night.
Braden Montgomery had two hits and an RBI as the White Sox bounced back from Saturday's 1-0 loss to take two of three from the Blue Jays. Toronto scored five total runs in the series.
A Chicago police SWAT officer was shot in the stomach while responding to a hostage situation after a woman was shot and critically injured Monday morning in the Albany Park neighborhood.
A woman was expected to recover after she was shot while driving in Chicago's Englewood community Sunday night.
A man was shot and killed in a fight in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood Sunday night.
A man was stabbed to death in North Chicago, Illinois, early Sunday morning.
Minneapolis police are investigating after a mass shooting seriously injured two people and wounded seven others outside a nightclub in the Uptown neighborhood early Sunday morning.
