The annual Department of Energy evaluation shows Fermilab’s leadership and safety grades rose from C+ to B in 2025, yet finance‑system gaps and transformer shortages caused concern. Argonne posted strong marks and earned a $6 million fee despite lower publication output and an accelerator shutdown.

The Citizens Utility Board is sounding the alarm on data centers’ growing demand on the electrical grid, saying Illinois consumers can expect higher electric bills.

In a reversal from previous years’ pollution reductions, the United States spewed 2.4% more heat-trapping gases from the burning of fossil fuels in 2025 than in the year before, researchers calculated in a study released Tuesday.

According to the Chicago office of the National Weather Service, Thursday's rainfall was a record-setter, with 1.92 inches of precipitation measured at O'Hare Airport, the city's official weather station.

Beginning Feb. 2, non-members will have to pay $5 — on top of the price of general admission — to enter the Butterfly Haven.

Chicago is once again hosting collection sites for real trees at 27 locations around the city, Jan. 3-17.

Collecting native seed can be labor intensive but it eventually pays for itself by creating even more seeds — for free.

Each year, the Office of Science at the Department of Energy evaluates the performance of the organizations that run its national laboratories. Despite some grades improving in the past fiscal year for local labs, records show scores dropping in some key areas.

Norbert Holtkamp, a veteran of international research, takes over leadership of the particle physics laboratory in suburban Batavia in 2026. The decision was announced by the Fermi Forward Discovery Group, the lab’s new management and operations contractor.

The Department of the Interior, which oversees national parks, announced recently it was unveiling “commemorative new designs” for park passes — one of which features Trump’s face alongside George Washington.

After a career spent largely in the shadows, Field Museum ornithologist Dave Willard is enjoying a moment in the spotlight for his contributions to conservation.

According to a new study from Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute, feral cats aren’t eating a lot of rats.

Chicago's total for the 2025-26 snowfall season already stands at 17.1. That's almost as much as Chicago notched in all of 2024-25.

The plan, if finalized next year, would significantly reduce fuel economy requirements, which set rules on how far new vehicles need to travel on a gallon of gasoline, through the 2031 model year.

Prepare for overnight lows in the negative single digits and wind chills of -15° to -20°. Thursday will be the coldest, with daytime highs in the teens, the weather service said.

The weekend snowstorm set a new record for November.