Ottawa City Hall is taking bids until April 29 on finishing the Illinois and Michigan Canal project. Mayor Dan Aussem hopes to get it done this summer. He’d also like a few more dollars from donors. He says the fund is about $50,000 short of the $200,000 goal laid out two years ago.
The earth moving and construction work to turn about a half-mile of the canal into a water recreation area began in July 2018. Various difficulties from weather to bids coming in too high for earlier parts of the project have made it take longer than expected.