Wikipedia makes a remark...about the redirected flow. It does go to
the Mississippi, but that still does not connect the Mississippi to
the Great Lakes.

"The Chicago River is a river that runs 156 miles (251 km)[1] and
flows through Chicago, including the downtown. Though not especially
long, the river is notable for the 19th century civil engineering
feats that directed its flow south, away from Lake Michigan, into
which it previously emptied, and towards the Mississippi River basin."


Jim