Editing Chicago River (section)

=== Saint Patrick's Day ===
[[File:Chicago_River_dyed_green_St_Patricks_Day_2021.jpg|thumb|The Chicago River dyed green for [[Saint Patrick's Day]]]] 
As part of a more than sixty-year-old Chicago tradition, the Chicago River is dyed green in observance of [[Saint Patrick's Day]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Dyeing of the River |url=http://www.chicagostpatsparade.com/river-dye.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318070452/http://www.chicagostpatsparade.com/river-dye.html |year=2009 |archive-date=March 18, 2009 |work=St. Patrick's Day Parade |publisher=Saint Patrick's Day Parade Committee of Chicago |access-date=June 14, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}</ref> [[Cook County]], of which Chicago is the county seat, had the highest number of [[Irish Americans]] by county in the United States according to 2023 census data.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/03/14/chicago-river-green-dyeing-2025-st-patricks-day/82324547007/ |title=Chicago River goes green
 |last=Crowley |first=Kinsey |newspaper=USA Today |date=16 March 2025 |publisher=[[USA Today]]|access-date=17 March 2025 }}</ref> The event occurs on the Saturday on or before March 17, when large celebratory crowds gather to watch the dyeing of the river, and then many go downtown to attend one of the holiday parades.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://abc7chicago.com/post/when-is-st-patricks-day-2025-chicago-river-dyeing-parades-take-place-weekend-what-know/16002748/ |title=Chicago St. Patrick's Day 2025: Parade, green river dyeing bring thousands downtown |last=Nagy |first=Liz |newspaper=ABC7 Chicago |date=15 March 2025 |publisher=[[American Broadcasting Company]] |access-date=15 March 2025 }}</ref>

The tradition of dyeing the river green arose by accident in 1961 when plumbers were using [[fluorescein]] dye to trace sources of illegal pollution discharge into the river. The plumbers then proposed a continuing celebration to the administration of the city's Irish-American mayor [[Richard J. Daley]].<ref name="fairfield">{{cite news |url=http://www.fairfieldmirror.com/2.4873/other-cities-dye-ing-to-know-what-turns-chicago-river-green-1.482160 |title=Other cities dye-ing to know what turns Chicago River green |work=The [[Columbia Chronicle]]|publisher=The [[Fairfield Mirror]], via UWIRE |first=British |last=Battle |date=March 20, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090419101444/http://www.fairfieldmirror.com/2.4873/other-cities-dye-ing-to-know-what-turns-chicago-river-green-1.482160|archive-date=April 19, 2009 }}</ref> The dyeing of the river is still sponsored by the local plumbers union.<ref>{{cite web|title=Green Chicago River|url=http://www.greenchicagoriver.com/index.html|publisher=Sponsor website|access-date=May 15, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623095346/http://www.greenchicagoriver.com/index.html|archive-date=June 23, 2011|url-status=usurped}}</ref>  Environmental concerns disallowed the use of fluorescein for this purpose, since it was shown to be harmful to the river.<ref name="fairfield" /> The parade committee switched to a mix involving forty pounds of powdered vegetable dye.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greenchicagoriver.com/story.html|title=The Man Who Dyed the River Green: Stephen M. Bailey|last=Lydon|first=Dan|access-date=March 16, 2011|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623095305/http://www.greenchicagoriver.com/story.html|archive-date=June 23, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Though the committee closely guards the exact formula, they insist that it has been tested and verified safe for the environment.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Bright-Green/2009/0316/is-the-dye-in-the-chicago-river-really-green|title=Is the dye in the Chicago River really green?|last=O'Carroll|first=Eoin|journal=Christian Science Monitor|date=March 16, 2009|access-date=November 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113180414/http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Bright-Green/2009/0316/is-the-dye-in-the-chicago-river-really-green|archive-date=November 13, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

The environmental organization Friends of the Chicago River disapproves of dyeing the river, saying the practice "gives the impression that it is lifeless and artificial", adding "Friends doesn't think that the river should be treated as a decoration for an annual holiday, but treasured and cared for as the wonderful natural and recreational resource it deserves to be".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagoriver.org/blog/2015/3/the-impact-of-dyeing-the-river-green|title=The Impact of Dyeing the River Green|date=March 18, 2015|website=Friends of the Chicago River|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227164544/https://www.chicagoriver.org/blog/2015/3/the-impact-of-dyeing-the-river-green|archive-date=December 27, 2019}}</ref>

In 2009 First Lady [[Michelle Obama]], a Chicago native, inspired by the river tradition, requested that the water in the [[White House]] fountains be dyed green to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day.<ref>[https://www.chicagotribune.com/2009/03/18/first-lad-and-lass-opt-for-a-days-splash-of-green/ White House fountains flow green for St. Patrick's Day], Mark Silva, March 18, 2009</ref>