Stories by Patty Wetli

Walmart says it is cutting its losses in the Chicago market, announcing Tuesday it will close four of its eight stores in the city by April 16.

Researchers at Northwestern University found that people who live directly next to Lake Michigan or along one of the major interstate highways running through Chicago are regularly exposed to more air pollution than residents in the rest of the city.

Researchers from Shedd Aquarium and Chicago-based Urban Rivers teamed with counterparts in Boston and Baltimore and confirmed that floating wetlands can improve water quality and provide vital habitat.

The Rosenberg Moon Habitat made by Rockford-based Ingersoll Machine Tools has been crowned the winner of Illinois’ 2023 Makers Madness contest.

Winners will be announced June 5 at the Lyric Opera.

Mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas made their case to voters at a packed forum held in Pilsen, and the words “crime” and “police” didn't come up once.

Much of the focus has been on the mayoral candidates’ public safety plans, but whoever emerges victorious on April 4 will also inherit environmental and climate-related challenges.

Scientists calculated the biomass of various groups of mammals, and humans’ impact weighs heavily on the planet.

The Chicago Park District has been setting its land ablaze on purpose, these fiery scenes leading to healthier natural areas.

The Illinois House of Representatives passed legislation that would phase out single-use polystyrene foam foodware beginning in January 2024.

It will be up to the next mayor to decide how to respond to Chicagoans’ growing frustration with these mega-events.

The annual four-day music festival will take place in Grant Park Aug. 3-6.

Spring is always an iffy proposition in Chicago, but it officially begins Monday. 

There’s one place spring has most definitely sprung: the Chicago Botanic Garden, where the annual orchid show is now underway. WTTW News also toured the garden’s orchid greenhouse, which isn’t open to the public.

The cubs were named in partnership with Maasai lion guardians in Tanzania. 

“This is providing the means for us to collaborate not only within the Chicagoland area but to really make a difference in biodiversity hot spots across the globe,” said Chuck Knapp, vice president of conservation research at Shedd Aquarium.

Opponents of a toxic sludge landfill on Lake Michigan have filed a lawsuit to stop a plan by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers to expand the dump by 25 vertical feet.

Fossils unearthed from Illinois’ famed Mazon Creek site have been sitting in collections misidentified for close to 50 years.

Bell Bowl Prairie was bulldozed Thursday morning after an 18-month fight to save the ancient prairie remnant from destruction by Rockford Airport, which is carving out a roadway for an expansion of its cargo operations.

“The Warehouse should be protected as a symbol of the rich history of Chicago’s LBGTQ+ African-American community, the incredible story of house music and the groundbreaking impact that Frankie Knuckles had on the sound of modern music today,” Preservation Chicago said.

Barring any last-minute court decisions, the Greater Rockford Airport Authority will soon resume construction on its cargo expansion project, bulldozing a portion of ancient Bell Bowl Prairie in order to carve out a new roadway.

A proposal from the Waukegan Port District to buy 52 acres of forest preserve land to accommodate construction of a new airport runway is stirring up controversy in Lake County.

Over the course of 23 years, the Cook County Coyote Project has tracked the movements of nearly 1,500 coyotes. 

Chicago will dodge the worst of a storm system whose track has stymied meteorologists as it's approached the region.

At some point Friday, it will probably rain or snow, but how much of which form of precipitation will fall, and where, forecasters still can’t say with confidence.

The big story was the amount of rain that fell in the Chicago region: There have only been seven wetter Februarys since 1871.