Although this article in BASS Times is ostensibly a status report on gamefishing in the Chicago River, it also provides some interesting history of the river's aquatic environment and its recent improvements. That's the very issue near to the hearts of the Friends of the Chicago River; you've likely heard of the "fish hotel" they recently installed near the Michigan Ave. Bridge. To learn more about the project, listen to the habitat's designer, Ted Gray, talking to Scott Simon on NPR's Weekend Edition.