140 hardy souls take the Penguin Plunge in Ottawa

A man dressed in orange-and-white jail stripes bolted away from wailing sirens Saturday and jumped into the lake at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa. Onlookers wondered: Was it a jailbreak?

Nope. It was Ottawa resident Bill Byczynski. He wanted to be first into the drink during Saturday’s fundraiser Penguin Plunge and do so with theatrical flair. Now, about the temperature of the water ...

“It’s great,” he answered, wiping the water from his face.

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The Skycicles team from Skydive Chicago uses a parachute as they jump into he icy waters Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, at the swimming pond at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa during the annual Penguin Plunge. The event raised money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. ( Tom Sistak For Shaw Media )

Judging from the howls and yelps heard as other plungers entered the lake, some of the 140 participants might have disagreed. The mercury topped out at 39 degrees under slate-gray skies. Yet most of those interviewed agreed Make-A-Wish Illinois had selected a banner day in comparison to the recent deep freeze.

Dozens of hardy souls followed Byzinski into the water – albeit briefly – clad more for spring break in Florida than for a day better spent in front of a crackling fire. But it’s all for a good cause.

Sheridan Adams of Chicago said she wasn’t going in alone. She held the leash to her dog, Bella, who was about to learn it was bath time with mama.

“Bella does not know what she’s in for yet, but she loves swimming and it’s going to be a quick in-and-out,” Adams said. “She really loves the snow.”

How about you, Sheridan?

“Eh, I don’t know if I’m as pumped as her,” she admitted.

Karly Rosencrans of Ottawa thought an icy dip would be the perfect way to celebrate a milestone birthday.

Rosencrans, now 30, talked her family into joining her for a plunge to celebrate the big 3-0. She’d done a Penguin Plunge before and had some advice for the novices.

“Just jump in,” she said. “Get it over with.”

Former Ottawa Mayor Dan Aussem caught wind of that advice and took a hard pass. Aussem helped bring in warming tents and propane heaters, all donated by a coalition of laborers including the Illinois Valley Contractors Association – but with the proviso that Aussem was absolutely, positively not going in the water himself.

“I was dumb enough to run for office,” Aussem said, “but I’m not that dumb.”

The atmosphere was more serious when two Make-A-Wish families took the microphone to tell their stories and thank those who, at plunge time, had Make-A-Wish Illinois within $6,000 of the $80,000 fundraising goal.

Everlee Mueller, 6, of Ottawa received a heart transplant in May of 2023 following a series of life-threatening cardiopulmonary diseases. Everlee’s mom, Emmylee, said they were enduring a long hospital stay when Make-A-Wish reached out.

“When I asked her if she could make any wish, what would it be,” Emmylee said. “She told me she just wanted to go home.”

Make-A-Wish did better than that. Everlee soon was a granted a customized bedroom filled, appropriately, with heart-shaped designs and patterns.

Jade Munoz of Ottawa also wanted a customized bedroom featuring characters such as Captain America, Spiderman and the Hulk. Artist Stacy Lazarra, herself a Make-A-Wish parent, set to work and, voila, the Avengers were all over Jade’s bedroom.

Jade’s father, Jose Munoz, said it was a happy development following a terrifying ordeal. Five-year-old Jade had been diagnosed with Langerhans cell histiocytosis, a rare and life-threatening disorder that overproduces a type of white blood cell.

“You never really expect to be yourself in that spot until you find yourself there,” Jose said, “and then your whole world changes.”

Streator attorney Jim Reilly hopes to see such diseases wiped out for good. In the meantime, he’s been supporting Make-A-Wish Illinois for 10 years to comfort children fighting for their lives. And he doesn’t mind the icy plunges.

“It actually isn’t that bad,” Reilly said. “Recently, there have been articles about how jumping into ice water is good for your health.

“You couldn’t prove it by me,” he quipped, “but that’s what they say.”