The Latest Breaking News from Lake Michigan

Very good bass fishing at Braidwood Lake, a brief preview before the opener of LaSalle Lake next Tuesday, March 15, the spread of open-water fishing around Chicago, lake trout and coho on southern Lake Michigan, and the return of river reports lead this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.

After going virtual last year, a shivering throng was back again to take the plunge Sunday at North Avenue Beach.

CHICAGO — Ice coverage may be nearing its peak throughout the Great Lakes in a season that has trended closer to average than originally forecast, as Lake Michigan’s water levels are expected to continue their decline well below the string of monthly record highs reached a few years ago.

Pollution hot spots including toxic dumping grounds that still feed into Lake Michigan are among the sites that stand to benefit from a $1 billion boost in funding for cleaning up the Great Lakes.

One of the biggest polluters of Lake Michigan agreed Monday to pay $3 million in fines after a previous owner dumped a plume of concentrated ammonia and cyanide into a northwest Indiana tributary and then failed to warn neighbors until thousands of dead fish floated past a marina days later.

The spill of cyanide and ammonia at the former ArcelorMittal plant killed almost 3,000 fish in 2019.

Sending Arroyo to prison wouldn’t have any effect on other politicians’ behavior, his lawyers argued in a sentencing memo filed Saturday.