Illinois’ new universal specialty license plate design, with monarch butterfly decal. (Illinois Secretary of State / Facebook)

After a seven-year wait, the state of Illinois will finally begin issuing monarch butterfly specialty license plates, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced Thursday.

(Pixabay)

Headlines spun out of control when it came to new research results on the Earth’s core. In other news, narwhals have had it with noisy neighbors.

Environmentalists are seething over the EPA temporarily relaxing enforcement rules. (mvpdv0ra / Flickr)

The EPA is relaxing enforcement of “environmental legal obligations” during the coronavirus pandemic, and activists are seething.

(Jonathan Cutrer / Flickr)
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Chicago has a target date of 2035 to transition to clean energy. On Saturday, the first of several planned community forums will gather residents’ input on how to achieve that goal.

Activists want a date when the 88-year-old Waukegan coal-fired power plant will begin a transition to cleaner power. But NRG Energy says it's poured millions into pollution controls for the plant and has no plans to close.