(Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

The Great Lakes was named a global “Hope Spot,” joining the Galapagos Islands, the Great Barrier Reef and the Bering Sea as a place identified as critical to the health of the ocean.

Altgeld Gardens (Eric Allix Rogers)

Proposals to list the properties on the National Register of Historic Places cleared a key committee hearing Wednesday and will come before the Commission on Chicago Landmarks in October.