Renaming the Canal
One element of the redefining process is to rename the Canal to one that reflects the 21st century vision for a shared resource that can support commerce at the same time that it plays a key role in community and environmental health. The word Sanitary no longer suits.
To officially change the name of a natural feature in the United States such as the Chicago Sanitary and Canal, a widely supported application must be made to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names.
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Upon receipt of a proposal to change a name, the Board states that all interested parties will be asked to comment and that they will make a decision after Tribal, county, and local governments; State Geographic Names Authority; and appropriate land management agencies have had an opportunity to provide recommendations.
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In partnership with U.S. Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11), Friends of the Chicago River and the Village of Lemont are coordinating a coalition of partners who are gathering support from our senators, five members of the U.S House of Representatives, the presidents and boards of three counties, and leadership from the 13 municipalities through which the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal flows.
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Once a public vote has been held, the coalition will formally make an application.
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What was the process?
Following an extensive discovery process to gather individual perspectives and build support for this initiative, a Naming Committee was formed in the spring of 2025 to focus specifically on discussing Canal renaming concepts and approaches.
The goal of the Naming Committee was to gather and refine well-informed Canal renaming options that would better reflect the Canal’s present and future by removing the stigmatizing term “Sanitary” from its title.
The Naming Committee was comprised of thought leaders representing multiple perspectives, and included extensive input from the general public through a widely circulated public survey that received nearly 400 responses. The Naming Committee included local Native American tribal representatives, historians, conservationists, residents and government leaders from canal corridor communities, artists, elected officials, business leaders, industry, government agency staff, academia, and others.
Three Committee workshops were held where participants discussed the cultural context of the canal, reflected upon the input and ideas gathered from the public survey, and identified and refined a short list of names for consideration to be shared as part of the public-facing renaming campaign.
The Names
Importantly, after discussion with local tribal members and Potawatomi language experts, the committee agreed that choosing a name that used Native languages could misrepresent and ignore what was taken and lost by the construction of Chicago’s canals. It is important to recognize that the building of the I&M Canal involved the government taking of ancestral lands from the Indigenous tribes who lived in the region and was as part of systematic removal of Native people from their land. Therefore those options were removed.
The final names recommended reflect the natural, historic, functional, directional and place-based themes which emerged from the process.
A few highlights from the Naming Committee meetings include:
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Participants shared stories and collective knowledge and different perspectives about the past, present, and future of the canal.
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Cultural considerations and perspectives were integrated in the final name selections.
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Feedback was given on a public engagement approach and public survey questions.
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Emerging name themes were identified and discussed for which naming strategies have potential for further improvement.
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Naming best practices were outlined and used to refine the list of name ideas.
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A short list of name options was commented on and refined.
We also used other established best practices for geographic naming to refine our renaming options, including removing names that were indistinct from other nearby waterways, those that used historic figures’ names, or were otherwise unsuitable.
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