A red flag billowed in the wind at Margaret T. Burroughs Beach as waves lapped up on the sand Tuesday. A red flag means it’s not safe to swim, warned Chicago Park District chief programs officer Alonzo Williams.
At a news conference Tuesday, Williams and officials from Chicago’s police and fire departments and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications reminded Chicagoans that beaches were closed for swimming now that lifeguards were off duty after Labor Day.
Officials also warned of high waves and the possibility of lakeshore flooding this week, which will make the lake particularly dangerous. Cook County could see waves of up to 18 feet high, according to the National Weather Service.
“Stay out of the water as much as possible. Even a good swimmer will have a bad day, so take responsibility with this,” said Jason Lach, the chief in charge of marine dive operations for the Chicago Fire Department.
Lach advised anyone who does get caught in a rip current to ride the wave out, get to a safer point and then swim to shore. Bystanders should call the police or fire department, he said.
Bystanders should not to get in the water themselves if they see someone struggling, he said.
Street signs along the lakefront have a marking system, Lach said. Witnesses can give the block number to an emergency dispatcher to help responders know exactly where they’re needed.
If a life ring is available, witnesses should stand upwind as they throw it, Lach said. They should try to aim over the drowning person’s head in order to try to get the ring as far out as possible. Bystanders attempting to help a drowning person should never tie a life ring to themselves.
Williams also offered updates on the Park District’s life ring pilot program.
Both sanctioned and unsanctioned swim locations will be part of the life ring pilot program, he said. He pointed to a life ring the Park District placed on the Margaret T. Burroughs Beach and another on the nearby 31st Street Pier. The pier is an unauthorized swim location.
The Park District has also installed a life ring at Pratt Pier in Rogers Park, where 19-year-old Miguel Cisneros drowned last month. The placement of a life ring there was a quick reversal of a previous Park District announcement, that the agency would only place life rings in locations already deemed safe to swim. Frustrated Rogers Park residents had placed their own life rings at the pier, which were removed by Park District before the agency reversed its decision and placed a sanctioned life ring at the location.
“We said ‘pilot,’ but let’s just say we’re doing a flight program, meaning it’s already taken off,” Williams said Tuesday. He said the Park District had ordered hundreds of life rings, but the agency’s vendor had reported a delay on supplies.
“As soon as we get them in, we plan on installing them,” he said, adding that the agency’s ultimate goal was to be ready for the 2022 beach season.
With beaches closed for the season, Williams encouraged Chicagoans to take advantage of the city’s indoor pools. More information about city pools and swim programs are available on the Park District’s website, he said.
