Temperatures could top 50 degrees in the Chicago area on Wednesday but the brief warmup will be accompanied by heavy rains, with a potential for flooding, followed by colder air and a wintry mix that could drop 7 inches of snow.

Green space advocates are in agreement that the north star of a new working group tasked to "reimagine" the Museum Campus needs to be the Lakefront Protection Ordinance. In short: No new building construction.

The eagle was released back into the Cook County preserve where it was found New Year’s Day, bleeding profusely. The raptor quickly reunited with its mate after more than a month apart.

Guien the agave continues to amaze. She’s now topped 20 feet and is fast approaching the Garfield Park Conservatory’s glass ceiling. Staff are trying to get the plant to slow her spurt.

The 14-story glass vending machine for cars, to be built across from a nature preserve, met with widespread opposition from residents and conservationists. At Monday’s board meeting, Skokie Village trustees gave the development the green light.

The snowy owl and the long-eared owl elicit the sort of reaction usually reserved for rock stars, including the intrusion of cameras into their personal space. Recent incidents involving aggressive photographers have reignited a debate over whether owls' locations should be shared publicly.

More than a foot of snow fell in parts of Pennsylvania, New York and New England on Friday but it was freezing rain and ice, accompanied by plummeting temperatures, that threatened to cause the biggest problems for travel and electric service before the storm blows out to sea late Friday and Saturday.

Admission to the Chicago Botanic Garden is no longer free. Ticket prices will range between $9.95 and $25.95 per adult, depending on anticipated demand.

The snowy owl is being treated at Willowbrook Wildlife Center, where a bald eagle is recuperating from the same issue. Anticoagulants in rodenticides can be deadly to the birds of prey that eat poisoned rats, mice and other rodents.

Lake scientists have long considered winter a season when aquatic activity slows. But researchers now think more is going on in the bitter depths than previously believed — including activity influenced by climate change. 

Chicago is digging out from a wild Wednesday that saw continuous snowfall throughout the day, dumping anywhere from 5.6 inches at O'Hare to 11 inches at Midway. That looks to be the end of active weather, for now. 

People in the Chicago region woke up Wednesday morning to heavy snowfall hitting just in time to snarl the morning commute. And there's more to come.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is about to embark on its first comprehensive study of the city’s lakefront in more than 25 years. 

A winter storm warning is in effect for the Chicago region, with the first round of snow expected late Tuesday into most of Wednesday, followed by a second round Thursday.   

The Jackson Park Advisory Council has canceled its February meeting due to concerns related to COVID-19, delaying an anticipated vote on controversial changes to the group's bylaws.

The Jackson Park Advisory Council is proposing a change to its bylaws that would raise the bar in terms who’s considered a voting member. Critics say the move is designed to limit input from “newcomers,” and they want the Chicago Park District to intervene.