July 15, 2010
Hundreds of area residents brought in the New Year with a swim...in 35-degree water.
More than 300-participants lined up in the freezing temperatures to take a dip in the Illinois. Many donned costumes and grimaces as they took the plunge.
"You know, you get real warm after you get out...it's part of being close to dying I think", said swimmer, Mick O'Neil.
"You have to move in show, and then you dunk. You come out and you try and stay as strong as possible and make it look like you're not cold", said swimmer Shane Hoadley.
It cost 20 dollars per person to take the chilly plunge and all proceeds go to area charities including Dream Factory and South Side Mission.
The Polar Ice Plunge has raised 40 thousand dollars in the last seven years.
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