For the first time in its 90-year history, Brookfield Zoo Chicago will welcome koalas.
Science & Nature
Illinois has the most lead pipes per capita of any state, according to a 2023 study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Sharp-eyed observers have now confirmed hatchlings in three of the four bald eagle nests being monitored on Will County forest preserve property.
Lights will be out in parking lots and along portions of the lakefront bike and pedestrian trails from 7 p.m. Friday to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Alliance for the Great Lakes has collected 20 years’ worth of data from beach cleanups. Tiny plastic trash is a huge problem.
Chicago’s water has been tested numerous times for the presence of so-called “forever chemicals,” and the substances have never been detected.
Wildlife officials are reporting that the season’s first Great Lakes piping plover, known as YibBee, has returned to his breeding grounds at Sleeping Bear Dunes. Will arrivals in Chicago be far behind?
Instead of trashing those vital eclipse glasses, recycle them at any one of dozens of Chicago locations.
Nearly 2,000 people gathered at Triton College in west suburban River Grove to view the solar eclipse Monday afternoon.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the Adler Planetarium in downtown Chicago for a viewing party. People brought telescopes, cameras and the necessary protective eyeglasses.
It promised to be North America’s biggest eclipse crowd ever, thanks to the densely populated path and the lure of more than four minutes of midday darkness in Texas and other choice spots. Almost everyone in North America was guaranteed at least a partial eclipse, weather permitting.
A total solar eclipse is set to move across the United States Monday afternoon with the path of totality sweeping from Texas up to Maine. Watch as it unfolds with NASA scientists.
‘Watershed’ Moment for Chicago River System as Tougher Rules Take Effect for City’s Sewer Discharges
“Chicago owns the most outfalls that discharge into the river system, and controlling what comes out of them is essential to reach our shared vision for a fishable-swimmable river that is accessible to everyone,” said Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River.
The Illinois Department of Transportation learned a lot from the traffic jam “hangover” that followed 2017’s solar eclipse: mainly to warn motorists to expect gridlock.
While there were no immediate reports of serious damage, officials were checking bridges and other major infrastructure, Amtrak slowed trains throughout the busy Northeast Corridor, and a Philadelphia-area commuter rail line suspended service out of what it said was “an abundance of caution.”
An independent engineering study has concluded Promontory Point’s limestone blocks are still functioning as ample shoreline protection, which refutes a longstanding position held by the Army Corps of Engineers.
