WTTW News Explains on the common myths around tornadoes and how the weather events can hit Chicago.

While a number of high-profile bills failed to garner enough support during the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly, the designation of an official state bee sailed through both the House and Senate.

Admire the creativity of the region's green thumbs and discover inspiration on garden walks, hosted by neighborhood associations and garden clubs across the area.

On Friday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized its designation of critical habitat for the endangered bumblebee. Counties in six states, including Illinois, are listed in the new ruling.

Friday marks the unofficial start to summer, with the city’s lakefront beaches opening for the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

More than 1,100 people participated in the contest, submitting more than 3,200 options. A committee narrowed the choices down to three finalists.

Chicago City Council members unanimously approved an amendment to the city’s Native and Pollinator Garden Registry ordinance, which now allows plants up to 36 inches tall in the parkway.

On the waterways of Xochimilco, just south of Mexico City’s center, communities are working to preserve a farming system that has sustained life for centuries.

Monitors with both Chicago Piping Plovers and Lake County Audubon Society reported eggs laid at Montrose Beach and the Waukegan shoreline, respectively.

The rare ghost orchid bloom will be on public display at the garden’s Tropical Greenhouse through May 25.

On May 9, one of the herd's females gave birth to a calf, the first baby bison born on tallgrass prairie in the county in 200 years, officials estimate.

The Chicago Park District has erected barriers at the Southeast Side park where a pair of eaglets and their parents are nesting.

Chicago’s Native and Pollinator Garden Registry is now open for applications. But before a single submission has even been accepted, an amendment to the ordinance governing the registry is already in the works.

Data center projects around Illinois are expected to generate millions in taxes, which contribute to schools and city services. There are leaders who question whether the benefits make up for increased energy prices and water use.

For the first time in more than 100 years, a bald eagle has been born inside the city’s limits, the Chicago Park District announced Wednesday.

Most birds migrate over Chicago at night. A new network of acoustic monitors is tracking their movements by listening for what can't be seen.