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Wednesday, March 10, 2010
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Overview
The Chicago Lifeguard Service, or the Chicago Park District Beaches and Pools Unit employs over 1000 Lifeguards during the Summer and 200 during the off season to protect the patrons at its 31 Beaches on Lake Michigan as well as dozens of indoor and outdoor pools at city parks and public high schools. The Service is the largest municipal lifeguard force in the world and is regularly observed by representatives from Japan, Australia, Ireland, Germany, California, Florida and other locales. The Service also covers more waterfront than any other individual lifeguard force in the world; Chicago beaches cover over 26 miles of the lakefront.
History
The Chicago Park District was created in 1934 by the Illinois Legislature under the Park Consolidation Act. By provisions of that act, the Chicago Park District consolidated and superseded the then-existing 22 separate park districts in Chicago, the largest three of which were the Lincoln Park, West Park, and South Park Districts, all of which had been established in 1869.
Prior to the 1934 consolidation, there were separate lifeguard forces for most of the individual park districts in Chicago. Even after the consolidation, there were some lakefronts and pools operated independently by the City of Chicago itself which maintained a separate lifeguard service for city lakefronts and pools.
In 1959, the City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District entered into an agreement whereby all of the city-owned lakefronts and pools would be transferred to the Chicago Park District. During the consolidation efforts, several far-sighted lifeguard supervisors, including George V. Iverson and Joseph Mansfield, began to lay the foundation of what would become the Chicago Park District Lifeguard Service, successfully merging the City of Chicago Lifeguard Service with the Chicago Park District Lifeguard Patrol. Further contributions to the Lifeguard Service were made by Sam Leone who founded the first ever Junior Lifeguard program which was adopted by the United States Lifesaving Association
Today
Today's Lifeguard Service is run under the Supervision of Mrs. Janet McDonough.
Chicago Park District lifeguards undergo hours of specialized training in Water Rescue, CPR, AED Administration, Oxygen Administration, Spinal Injuries, and First Aid. The training is a combination of American Red Cross and Chicago Park District standards. Each guard must be certified each and every year to continue working for the Chicago Park District.
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Annualized Estimates (based on previous years)
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27,308,012
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Pool Attendance
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3,870,260
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Total Summer Attendance
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31,178,272
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Rescues
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8,571
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Preventative Actions
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40,189
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Major First Aid
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2,701
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Minor First Aid
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15,207
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Lost Children
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10,107
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Average Temperature
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Air
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75.9 Degrees
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Water
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66.98 Degrees
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Indoor Pools
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22
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Outdoor Pools
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54
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Water Playgrounds
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8
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Water Slides
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3
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City College Pools
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1
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School Park Pools
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22
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Major Beaches
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17
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Minor Beaches
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14
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Inland Beaches
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1
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Lincoln Park Boat Club
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1
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Diversey Storeroom
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1
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Leone Park Beach
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1
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Total Units Served By Lifeguards
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145
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Beaches & Pools Personnel
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Natatorium Instructors
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27
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Natatorium Instructors (Hourly)
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10
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Aquatic Supervisors
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10
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Lifeguards (Beach)
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400
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Senior Guards (Beach)
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72
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Captains
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22
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Lifeguards (Pool)
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365
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Senior Lifeguards (Pool)
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57
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Total
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954
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Calumet
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1,500,375
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Rainbow
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506,520
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South Shore
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1,125,500
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64th St.
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171,935
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57th St.
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1,560,325
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12th St.
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362,844
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Oak
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6,028,400
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North
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7,388,000
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Montrose
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3,008,700
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Foster
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2,233,000
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Ostermann
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512,700
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Hartigan
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1,083,400
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Leone
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1,423,150
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Humboldt
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400,163
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Total
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27,308,012
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Major Incidents Responded to
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99
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People rescued and/or assisted
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243
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Vessels towed(Kayaks-7, PWC-6, Power-49, Sail-7)
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69
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Boats pulled off break waters and/or beaches
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10
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Boats dewatered
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8
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Boat fires resonded to and worked on
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4
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Estimated boat values of boats assisted/rescued
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$2,339,100
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Major rescue incidents responded to
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23
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Major dive jobs performed
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28
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Minor dive jobs performed
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65
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SCUBA tanks used during all phases of work
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289
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Major life threatening first-aid cases responded to
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6
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Bodies recovered
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4
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Be aware of current water quality conditions at your local beach with the Chicago Park District flag notification system.
Green - Swimming is permitted. Water is calm and quality is safe based on current monitoring for E.coli bacteria.
Yellow - Advisory is in effect. Caution is advised. Water and weather conditions becoming unpredictable. Restrictions may be implemented. Increased risk of illness may be present based on current monitoring for E.coli bacteria.
Red - Swim ban is in effect due to severe weather and/or water conditions, which may be hazardous. Serious risk of illness may be present based on current monitoring for E.coli bacteria.
Regardless of flag color, our beaches are always open. Flag colors represent conditions for swimming only.
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