After losing father and sister to ALS, Illinois man swims nearly 20,000 strokes to raise funds

CHICAGO — When Doug McConnell reaches 100 swim strokes, he thinks about his father. At 400, he thinks about his sister.He thought about both of them this week when he swam 19,220 strokes in Lake Michigan from Evanston, Ill., to downtown Chicago to raise funds toward finding a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a terminal disease with no cure. He lost his father in 2006 to the disease, and in 2018, his sister.“That’s always a lift, when you’re cold or you’re tired or your shoulders are aching or your legs are cramping,” he said.The swim was part of the group A Long Swim, which he and...

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