They said they were going to give rides to passengers, which could be really popular. But, yeah, I think it's just PR for the city. Richie Daley likes PR. He brought the Cow Parade to Chicago, after all.
Saw those last year on Discovery or one of it's sisters. Cool Toy. In the Chicago river? Visability would be a problem but might be good for inspecting bridge pylons and such.
Hey! They reversed the flow of the River! It's all better now! Really it is!
"Yes, the River's flow was reversed in 1900, as a great engineering plan created by the Sanitary District of Chicago to end the overwhelming drinking water contamination problems that killed over 80,000 Chicagoans in the 1880s. The Sanitary District of Chicago built the Sanitary and Ship Canal to connect the Chicago River to the Des Plaines and Illinois Rivers using the same technology that would later be used to construct the Panama Canal. The portion of the River that is downtown -- the Main Branch -- and the South Branch (except for Bubbly Creek) were reversed so that the river's water flowed away from Lake Michigan, from where drinking water came, and into the newly constructed Sanitary and Ship Canal. It was considered the Eighth Wonder of the World by local boosters (but hardly anybody else). With construction of the Cal-Sag Channel, the flow of the Calumet River was reversed as well.
Carp and goldfish make up a large portion of the fish population although there are also bullhead, darters, minnows, sunfish, bass, and visitors from the Lake like trout and salmon. Over 50 species of fish have been identified in the varied reaches of the River. Birds also live along the banks. Great blue heron, kingfishers, warblers, ducks, and many more are common. Signs of beaver, muskrat, and even mink have been sighted on the river."
