October 11, 2012
Governor Pat Quinn was in East Peoria yesterday to talk about mud, the Illinois River and how both can help the city of Chicago.
The "Mud to Parks" project will take mud from the bottom of Peoria Lake to be used as soil for Chicago parks. When all is said and done, about 90,000 tons of mud will be dredged from the Illinois River.
The Governor says mud and sediment has been piling up in the river and its starting to cause problems.
It's bad for wildlife that depend on habitat, it's very bad for recreational boating, and definitely bad for navigation," Quinn said. "We've moved many goods up and down this river with our barges, but if the river gets too shallow it's not good at all."
You can expect to see dredging on the riverfront until early winter.