A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the completed restoration project was held on Oct. 23, 2023. (Nicole Cardos / WTTW News)

A major effort to restore nearly 200 acres of wetland habitat at Powderhorn Prairie and Marsh Nature Preserve on the Chicago’s Southeast Side is now complete after more than three years.

The proposed map shows the Illinois portion of the now-canceled Navigator Heartland Greenway pipeline. (Published by Navigator CO2 at heartlandgreenway.com)
,

The plan included several hundred miles of pipeline in Illinois which terminated at sequestration sites designed to store carbon dioxide underground. The project was met with significant pushback from environmentalists and landowners.

(Courtesy of the Field Museum)

The Chicago organization is joined by chapters in Detroit and Wisconsin in dropping “Audubon” and adopting the more inclusive, collaborative “Alliance.”

Shedd Aquarium’s newest rockhopper penguin, hatched in June, took its first swim with the entire colony.

Shedd Aquarium’s newest rockhopper penguin, hatched in June, just took its first swim with the entire colony and the results were mixed. 

Banana, a 4-year-old pygmy hippopotamus at Brookfield Zoo, takes a bite out of her Halloween treat. (Jim Schulz / CZS-Brookfield Zoo)

Caretakers will pass out more pumpkins to animals during Brookfield's “Boo! at the Zoo” event Saturday and Sunday.

Pond at Sand Ridge Nature Center, a Cook County Forest Preserve in the Calumet region. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
,

"For the first time in a long time, it is not the budget of an agency in a holding pattern, keeping long-term, pressing needs at bay," Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. "For Fiscal Year 2024, we are moving forward."

Chicagoans can bring their food waste to one of 15 locations across the city and dispose of it in a green bin, officials said. (Credit: City of Chicago)
,

Less than 9% of the trash produced every year by Chicago residents is kept out of landfills — a rate that has been essentially unchanged for five years, despite repeated calls for the city to do a better job at recycling.

From a distance, 1229 West Concord in Lincoln Yards looks like every other glass tower in Chicago. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
,

Sterling Bay’s first completed structure at its $6 billion Lincoln Yards riverfront development was constructed with bird-friendly glass. The use of the material is one of several features intended to minimize the sorts of deadly bird collisions Chicago just witnessed in record numbers.

A file photo of previous annular eclipse. (Courtesy of NASA)

On Saturday, Oct. 14, Chicago astronomer Joe Guzman advises Chicagoans to turn their eyes to the skies — but only with proper protection — to witness a partial solar eclipse.

A sign reading “No CO2, no eminent domain” stands along a rural road east of Bismarck, N.D., on Aug. 15, 2023. (AP Photo / Jack Dura, file)
,

The proposed 1,300-mile project would carry planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from more than 20 industrial plants across South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois. The Illinois permit is crucial because that’s where the company planned to store the carbon dioxide underground.

(Credit: Rüdiger Bieler)

Named Cayo margarita as a nod to Buffett’s song “Margaritaville,” the bright yellow specimen is a worm snail, a type of mollusk that sticks to hard surfaces within the coral reef and forms a tubular shell around itself.

A team at the Field Museum processes birds killed in collisions with McCormick Place during a massive migratory wave Oct. 4-5, 2023. (Daryl Coldren / Field Museum)

While the full tally of dead will never be known, wildlife advocates are certain of one thing: The vast majority of bird losses in the past week were preventable.

Top left: Field Museum staff collected 1,000 dead birds Thursday from the grounds of McCormick Place. (Courtesy of Taylor Hains). Top right: The cinderblock shell of an illegal building in Humboldt Park, obscuring the landmarked Receptory and Stable building, will be demolished. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News). Bottom left: Chicago Public Schools building. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News). Bottom right: Migrants outside a Chicago police station. (WTTW News)
, , , ,

The escalating migrant crisis dominated political news in Chicago this week. Meanwhile, WTTW News investigated instances of Chicago Public Schools hiring fired Chicago police officers to work as security guards. Here are five stories you may have missed.

Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Fellow Hope Burks presents her research into inflammation monitoring to Gov. J.B. Pritzker at a launch event for the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago. (Andrew Adams / Capitol News Illinois)

Biohub part of Facebook founder’s philanthropy

In addition to initial state funding, the center will receive $250 million from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative over 10 years to fund research into inflammation, part of the body’s innate response to irritation and disease.

Trail maps are available at the forest preserve district's various nature centers. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

When people veer off designated trails, they damage vegetation, compact soil, contribute to erosion and also create pathways for new invasive plant species.

Field Museum staff collected 1,000 dead birds Thursday from the grounds of McCormick Place. (Courtesy of Taylor Hains)

Chicago is one of the deadliest cities for migrating birds and Thursday’s “insane abundance of migratory action” led to “insane mortality,” birders said. The remedy is as simple as flipping off a light switch.