(WTTW News)

At the end of June, Illinoisans will no longer hear the words “Asian carp.” After several years and hundreds upon hundreds of millions spent trying to keep them from the Great Lakes, how can that possibly be? We explain.

(Hashan / Pixabay)

It's mating season for deer, which means more are on the move at dawn and dusk — prime time for deer-vehicle collisions. Cook County led the state in 2019 with 472 crashes.

Black bear. (Jitze Couperus / Flickr)

Officials are telling people to keep their distance from the bear. People aren’t listening.

Campgrounds at Illinois state parks are reopened, with new guidelines in place. (Kelle Cruz / Flickr)

First of all, take note that “reopened” doesn’t mean “back to normal.” Guidelines, including limiting campsites and campfires to registered occupants, are in place.

Two months after becoming the first company approved for fracking in Illinois, Woolsey Operating Company has withdrawn its permit. 

(Tim Evanson / Flickr)

A Kansas company that last week won approval of Illinois’ first horizontal fracking permit has been cited with more than two dozen violations in multiple states, records show.

Despite more than 5,000 public comments opposing the permit, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources this week approved an application for the controversial oil-drilling practice.

Along Wolf Lake on Chicago’s Southeast Side lies the only Illinois state park within city limits, where visitors can find fishing spots, biking trails – and invasive species.

Despite a spate of recent reports, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources says that reintroducing alligator gar into Illinois' waterways will not prevent Asian carp from reaching Lake Michigan.

Rauner pushes for compromise, which includes continued closure of Thompson Center art gallery

On Monday, the state of Illinois announced the reopening of the Illinois State Museum, a 138-year-old institution closed by Gov. Bruce Rauner last September. But it's not exactly that easy. 

Juvenile channel catfish released into the Chicago River on May 12, 2015. (Friends of the Chicago River)

Two organizations have joined forces to release nearly 200,000 fish into the Chicago and Calumet waterways over the past two years.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Friends of the Chicago River are releasing 30,000 channel catfish into the Chicago River.