My Fox Chicago
By Jennifer Wessner
February 12, 2010

CHICAGO – Illinois members of Congress on Thursday said “no” to a plan to sever the waterways linking the Illinois and Mississippi rivers to Lake Michigan.

Michigan officials called for cutting links in the main shipping channels that run into Lake Michigan to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.

U.S. Reps. Debbie Halvorson, Judy Biggert and Danny Davis spoke against the plan during a news conference in Chicago. They cited concerns over the economic effects and potential draining issues of the current proposal.

Asian carp have been a chief concern of the region for several months. The invasive carp are destructive to their environment and threaten to disrupt the sensitive ecosystem of Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan serves as a primary source of water for the Chicago area.

President Barack Obama has pledged $78.5 million to the Great Lakes states to prevent the carp from spreading. But the federal aid may not make up for the lost revenue the fishing and boating industry will suffer.

A six-day fish kill in December cost businesses millions in lost revenue. A permanent closure would force shipping lanes to change, likely forcing many industries to close down.

Biggert believes that closures are an extreme action that could cause serious problems.

“There are no silver bullets,” Biggert said. “But I think that with all the things that we do, we will stop the Asian carp without stopping commerce and creating flooding.”

People who live along the waterways remember frequent flooding before the locks were built, and fear the flooding will retrun if the locks are closed.

Halvorson knows first hand the danger of possible flooding.

“I live in the south suburbs,” she said. “Before the tunnel was put together and all the flooding in the basements, my basement flooded probably every other year.”

Additionally, there is speculation about how effective the locks’ closure would be in dealing with the carp. Halvorson said she wants to look for a solution that’s already been tested.

“I will be recommending that the Asian carp working group move towards working on options such as strengthening our barriers that we know work,” she said.