From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Great Lakes governors and mayors – including Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley – are banding together to explore big changes for the Chicago River to protect the world’s largest freshwater system.

Just three days after five Great Lakes attorneys general filed a lawsuit to force Chicago to plug the canal system to protect Lake Michigan from the advancing Asian carp, a coalition of regional leaders announced plans Thursday to embark on a $2 million study to determine just what it will take to get that job done.

The idea of damming the canals is considered anathema to the Chicago business community because of the impact it could have on the barge industry and the way wastewater flows in the Chicago area. But political leaders across the region are taking the idea seriously. Read more.