Great Lakes Now Featured Articles About Chicago
‘Everyone deserves clean air,’ says a Chicago EPA worker who fears her job will end
Ellie Hagen is a scientist at the Environmental Protection Agency. She worries proposed cuts at EPA will put people’s health at risk.
What would the Great Lakes region be like with bullet trains?
Exploring how high speed rail could transform the Great Lakes region.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker set ambitious climate goals for the state. It’s far from meeting them.
From electric vehicles to renewable energy, Illinois is lagging — and it faces even more challenges.
Carp Catch-22: Could improvements in Chicago waterways invite unwelcome guests?
New research suggests pollution from Chicago-area waterways might be creating an invisible barrier, deterring migration. But for how long?

From Madigan’s Conviction to ComEd’s EV Rebate Program: How Illinois is Shaping Its Energy Future
More energy news as federal funding for climate science faces cuts under Trump, while Ohio wrestles with “a supply and demand imbalance” on the electric grid.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker set ambitious climate goals for the state. It’s far from meeting them.
From electric vehicles to renewable energy, Illinois is lagging — and it faces even more challenges.

Energy transition sees small wins, major uncertainty in the Upper Midwest
Chicago to use 100% renewable energy for city-owned buildings, while the Pentagon blacklists a Chinese company working with Ford on EV batteries.

Can environmental law move beyond bedrock 1970’s legislation, while adapting to current and future challenges?
To gain a better understanding of how environmental law has evolved, Great Lakes Now spoke with three environmental law attorneys.
Presenting Atlas Obscura: The Mysterious Sinkholes of Mount Baldy
One family’s visit to a famous Indiana sand dune turns into a wild tale of a missing boy and mysterious tunnels.

Carp Catch-22: Could improvements in Chicago waterways invite unwelcome guests?
New research suggests pollution from Chicago-area waterways might be creating an invisible barrier, deterring migration. But for how long?

Joliet, Illinois, Plans to Source Its Future Drinking Water From Lake Michigan. Will Other Cities Follow?
As aquifers dry up, some Midwest communities are looking to the region’s greatest natural resources for a solution.

How do fish survive in large urban waterways, like the Chicago River?
The Chicago River’s hardened shorelines, stormwater pollution events and limited habitat would seem inhospitable to fish. Yet, native species are finding ways to call the city home.

Chicago’s beach season is over … or is it? Lake Michigan temps are breaking records.
Lake Michigan’s surface temperature has been above average nearly every day this year so far. All five Great Lakes are heating up.

Chicago reveals climate havens don’t exist — they must be created
Extreme heat and precipitation events are becoming more frequent and intense in Chicago. It’s the city’s preparation efforts that will determine climate resiliency.
South Shore residents are fed up with garbage on their streets
The community has more reports of sanitation code violations than any South Side neighborhood.

Chicago teachers demand climate solutions in their next contract
“That contract means nothing if our Earth is on fire.”