What if our cities could be more like forests? That’s the question at the heart of a new building prototype developed by architecture and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

A 50-year record could fall Wednesday as the temperature in Chicago is expected to reach the mid- to upper-60s, according to the National Weather Service. The warmest Dec. 15 to date was 64 degrees in 1971.

As searches continued for those still missing, efforts also turned to repairing the power grid, sheltering those whose homes were destroyed and delivering drinking water and other supplies.

If the thought of drinking a caramel brownie iced coffee or peppermint mocha latte sounds like a punishment, you might be a coffee snob or, according to a new study, a preference for bitter cups of plain black joe just might be in your DNA.

In Chicago, predominantly Latino communities often bear the environmental burden of heavy industry, and residents of those communities say they have a hard time making their concerns heard.

A 20-year extension of the dump, operated by the Army Corps of Engineers to hold toxic sludge dredged from Lake Michigan, is still under review. The dump was supposed to be retired in 2022 and turned over to the Chicago Park District for redevelopment.

One of the country’s longest-running community science projects is about to get underway. We’ve got all the details on Audubon Society’s 122nd annual Christmas Bird Count, including how to join the effort. 

A strong storm system is moving into the Chicago region, bringing an “out-of-season” threat of thunderstorms and even tornadoes, with the worst expected to hit after 9 p.m. Friday, the National Weather Service said.

Bison once roamed Illinois’ tallgrass prairies in some of the largest herds east of the Mississippi, but they’re so rare in these parts today, a single escapee from a Lake County farm is creating a social media stir.

It’s been 268 days, and counting, since Chicago recorded its last measurable snow. The record of 290 days is within reach.

With new tools at their disposal, archeologists are revisiting a prehistoric site discovered 40 years ago at what’s now Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. “What we have here is a real unique opportunity to talk about how humans used this landscape over the last 10,000 years,” one researcher said. 

The U.S. District Court settlement modifies a previous consent decree that required BP Products North America Inc. to limit releases from the sprawling facility on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan.

Comet Leonard, discovered in January of this year by astronomer Greg Leonard, is racing toward the sun and will make its closest pass of Earth in the coming days. The Adler Planetarium is hosting a viewing session Tuesday morning. 

The U.S. needs a national strategy to deal with its plastic waste problem, which the country produces at a greater rate than the entire European Union combined, according to a new report. Interventions can’t come soon enough for wildlife.

A group of North Side alderpeople and community organizations are teaming up to recycle non-working holiday lights, which, it should be emphasized, cannot and should not be placed in regular recycling bins.

The sighting of a small-billed elaenia over the Thanksgiving holiday had bird lovers flocking to Waukegan from far and wide to catch a glimpse of this South American flycatcher, thousands of miles off course.