The Chicago Park District is extending some of its end-of-summer aquatics programs, keeping 20 neighborhood pools open through Labor Day.
All 23 swimming beaches and more than 200 water play features will also remain open through Sept. 30.
The Park District said it prioritized pools in neighborhoods with higher vulnerability to extreme heat, identified through Chicago’s updated Heat Vulnerability Index. Last year, the Park District kept 19 pools open beyond their usual closing dates in August.
“As Chicago experiences more frequent and intense periods of extreme heat, access to public pools is more than recreation — it’s an important public health resource,” Park District CEO Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said in a statement.
The Park District also considered geographic distribution, pool capacity, community usage, ADA accessibility, access to public transportation and operational and maintenance needs in its decision to keep some pools open.
This summer, the Park District’s outdoor pools operated seven days a week for at least eight hours each day. The district also recruited more than 700 seasonal employees, including lifeguards and attendants.
The “overwhelming majority” of seasonal lifeguards are high school and college students who return to school in August, the Park District said in a statement.
“Our team works carefully to adjust staffing, schedules, and operations so we can safely keep neighborhood pools open through Labor Day while continuing to safely staff all of Chicago’s beaches and maintaining the high standards our patrons expect,” the Park District said.
Pool schedules are available online.