The day before a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency public hearing on the options for controlling the migration of Asian carp, a bipartisan group of Illinois congressmen and business leaders lobbied to keep shipping canals that connect Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River open. Rep. Judy Biggert criticized Michigan officials and others fighting to close Chicago-area locks, saying restricting barge and boat traffic would damage the local economy. Opponents say leaving the locks open could devastate the Great Lakes ecosystem.