Change is happening since Donald Trump took office and began making good on campaign pledges to reduce the size and scope of the work of the federal agencies that serve the country.
And the 50-year-old focus of the U.S. EPA to protect the environment has not been immune.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/04/experts-explain-criticality-of-regional-epa-office/
By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for WBEZ newsletters to get local news you can trust.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/04/everyone-deserves-clean-air-says-a-chicago-epa-worker-who-fears-her-job-will-end/
A few months ago, I was riding on Amtrak’s new Borealis line from St. Paul, Minn., to Chicago. The train was packed that day, and the new line has proved popular.
My coach seat was much nicer than any airline. Plus, I didn’t have to go through security.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/03/what-would-the-great-lakes-region-be-like-with-bullet-trains/
Catch the latest energy news from around the Great Lakes region. Check back for these biweekly Energy News Roundups.
Chicago Democrat Michael Madigan — known for being the longest-serving legislative leader in United States history — was convicted last week of conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/from-madigans-conviction-to-comeds-ev-rebate-program-how-illinois-is-shaping-its-energy-future/
By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for WBEZ newsletters to get local news you can trust.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/illinois-gov-jb-pritzker-set-ambitious-climate-goals-for-the-state-its-far-from-meeting-them/
Catch the latest energy news from around the Great Lakes region. Check back for these biweekly Energy News Roundups.
Chicago’s commitment to using 100% renewable energy at city-owned buildings went into effect Jan.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/energy-transition-small-wins-uncertainty-upper-midwest/
By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for WBEZ newsletters to get local news you can trust.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/environmental-cred-questioned-for-biden-backed-hydrogen-hub-in-northwest-indiana/
By Kristoffer Tigue, Inside Climate News
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.
Raquel Garcia has been fighting for years to clean up the air in her neighborhood southwest of downtown Detroit.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/new-federal-funds-aim-to-cut-carbon-emissions-and-air-pollution-from-us-ports/
A 2022 report titled Promises Half Kept at the Half Century Mark, by the Environmental Integrity Project, released on the Clean Water Act’s 50th anniversary said the law is “falling short of its original goals.”
Michigan, for example, has the 4th largest number of impaired lakes, reservoirs and streams assessed for water contact recreation in the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/can-environmental-law-move-beyond-bedrock-1970s-legislation-while-adapting-to-current-and-future-challenges/
By Daniel Wanschura
Points North is a biweekly podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes.
This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.
On July 12, 2013 the Woessner family was hiking in Indiana.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/presenting-atlas-obscura-the-mysterious-sinkholes-of-mount-baldy/
By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for WBEZ newsletters to get local news you can trust.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/carp-catch-22-could-improvements-in-chicago-waterways-invite-unwelcome-guests/
By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for WBEZ newsletters to get local news you can trust.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/the-nations-first-commercial-carbon-storage-plant-is-in-illinois-it-leaks/
By Kristoffer Tigue, Inside Climate News
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.
MINNEAPOLIS—A record amount of federal aid will soon flow to states to help fix, replace or demolish their aging dams, many of which are under increasing pressure as climate change fuels more frequent and severe extreme weather events.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/midwest-dam-safety-projects-funding/
By Nina Elkadi, Inside Climate News
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.
The aquifer from which Joliet, Illinois, sources its drinking water is likely going to run too dry to support the city by 2030—a problem more and more communities are facing as the climate changes and groundwater declines.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/joliet-illinois-lake-michigan-drinking-water/
How fish adapt to life in large urban rivers, like the Chicago River, is one of the questions Dr. Austin Happel is trying to answer at the Shedd Aquarium.
“Knowing where different fish species are hanging out, we can look around that area and kind of understand what that habitat looks like and what it’s providing for them,” Happel said.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/how-do-fish-survive-in-large-urban-waterways-like-the-chicago-river/
By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for WBEZ newsletters to get local news you can trust.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/chicagos-beach-season-is-over-or-is-it-lake-michigan-temps-are-breaking-records/
Experts now say “climate havens” are not places immune from climate change, but areas where adequate preparation is implemented to account for a drastically different climate than anticipated.
Great Lakes cities, like Chicago, are generally considered to be at a lower risk for extreme climate impacts such as wildfires and tropical storms.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/chicago-reveals-climate-havens-dont-exist-they-must-be-created/
By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for WBEZ newsletters to get local news you can trust.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/08/south-shore-residents-are-fed-up-with-garbage-on-their-streets/
By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, Grist
This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/08/chicago-teachers-demand-climate-solutions-in-their-next-contract/
For Chicago’s Alaina Harkness, the availability and well-being of Chicago and the Great Lakes region’s water is clear. It’s about innovation, and that requires collaboration. Bringing together the right mix of policy, science, tech, advocacy groups, and others to work on common priorities for the future of water.
This mix happened recently at Chicago Water Week, organized by the not-for-profit, Current, a Chicago-based water innovation hub.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/chicago-groups-spotlight-the-citys-water-abundance-focus-on-innovation-collaboration-as-key-to-its-future/
Waves of Change is an online interview series highlighting the diverse faces and perspectives shaping the environmental justice movement throughout the Great Lakes region.
This month, we spoke with Gary Swick, educator and president of Friends of the Fox River.
Listen to the full interview
The Fox River is a tributary of the Illinois River and flows over 200 miles from southern Wisconsin to Ottawa, Illinois.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/waves-of-change-meet-educator-and-friends-of-the-fox-river-president-gary-swick/
By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, Grist
This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/in-chicago-one-neighborhood-is-fighting-gentrification-and-climate-change-at-the-same-time/
By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for WBEZ newsletters to get local news you can trust.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/illinois-and-army-corps-at-an-impasse-over-building-barrier-to-prevent-invasive-carp/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Wajeeha Kamal, Great Lakes Echo
Chicago is joining a nationwide trend of large cities incorporating equity or justice goals into preparing for climate change’s impact on public health.
The idea is to better protect Black, Hispanic, Indigenous and other socially vulnerable and marginalized communities.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/faced-with-covid-era-civil-rights-complaints-chicago-commits-to-environmental-justice/
A classic definition of “environmental restoration” talks about reclaiming habitat and restoring land and waters that plants and animals depend on.
What’s missing from that long-standing approach? Humans. People who may live near toxic waters directly benefit when they’re cleaned up. People who fish the Detroit River for subsistence, for example.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/study-calls-for-epa-to-include-human-well-being-in-great-lakes-restoration-program/
By Ellie Katz, Interlochen Public Radio
Points North is a biweekly podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes.
This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.
White-tailed deer are one of a few species that have managed to thrive as we urbanize and suburbanize the Midwest.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/points-north-doe-a-deer-a-sterilized-female-deer/
By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/chicago-could-be-first-major-midwestern-city-to-ban-gas-in-new-construction/
By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for WBEZ newsletters to get local news you can trust.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/army-corps-plans-1-billion-barricade-to-deter-invasive-carp-at-illinois-and-des-plaines-rivers/
The trek in the Great Lakes region’s efforts to stop the advance of invasive carp could be classified as a long, strange and seemingly never-ending trip.
It started in the early 2000’s when advocates were successful in securing electric barriers to repel the fish. That was an interim measure and was followed by an over-the-top $18 billion plan to separate two great watersheds.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/great-lakes-policy-advocate-calls-out-illinois-for-intransigence-on-invasive-carp-solution/
By Michael Phillis and Camille Fassett, Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Flooding is driving millions of people to move out of their homes, limiting growth in some prospering communities and accelerating the decline of others, according to a new study that details how climate change and flooding are transforming where Americans live.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/ap-flooding-drives-millions-to-move-climate-migration-patterns-emerge/
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Farmer Claiming PFAS Pollution From Mine Sent to Arbitration — Bloomberg Law News
An Illinois appellate court on Friday ordered a dispute between a farmer and a mining company over alleged water pollution from firefighting foam used to extinguish a fire at a mining operation be settled in arbitration, reversing a lower court decision.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/pfas-news-roundup-impact-pfas-farming-proposed-cuts-epa/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Will County solar boom not entirely welcomed — Herald-News
Some Illinois local officials say a recent state law limits their ability to block commercial solar developments amid landowner opposition.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/energy-news-roundup-opposition-solar-development-illinois-excessive-heat-detroit/
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/chicago-suburbs-water-tap-lake-michigan/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Wind, solar training facility opens in Bloomington — Pantagraph
Officials unveil a new technical training center in Bloomington, Illinois, that will train at least 100 people annually for wind and solar jobs.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/energy-news-roundup-climate-action-plan-illinois-offshore-wind-lake-erie/
By Maia McDonald and Katrina Pham, Borderless
This piece is part of a collaboration that includes the Institute for Nonprofit News, Borderless, Ensia, Planet Detroit, Sahan Journal, and Wisconsin Watch, as well as the Guardian and Inside Climate News. The project was supported by the Joyce Foundation.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/community-led-approach-stopping-flooding-expands/
By Siri Chilukuri, Planet Detroit
This piece is part of a collaboration that includes the Institute for Nonprofit News, Borderless, Ensia, Planet Detroit, Sahan Journal, and Wisconsin Watch, as well as the Guardian and Inside Climate News. The project was supported by the Joyce Foundation.
Jera Slaughter looks at her backyard with pride, pointing out every feature and explaining how it came to be.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/chicagos-south-side-neighbors-fight-keep-lake-michigan-bay/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Home Water Quality Testing Kits For Lead, Copper And PFAS To Debut In Chicago — Forbes
The National Science Foundation is backing a pilot study by Northwestern University to develop and distribute water quality testing kits to Chicago-area residents.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/pfas-news-roundup-clermont-county-village-lawsuit-forever-chemicals-testing-kits-debut-chicago/
Love staring at a map and discovering something interesting? Then “Mapping the Great Lakes” is for you. It’s a monthly Great Lakes Now feature created by Alex B. Hill, a self-described “data nerd and anthropologist” who combines cartography, data, and analytics with storytelling and human experience.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/mapping-the-great-lakes-who-is-looking-out-for-the-great-lakes/
August 8, 2023
Fresh is a biweekly newsletter from Circle of Blue that unpacks the biggest international, state, and local policy news stories facing the Great Lakes region today. Sign up for Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing, straight to your inbox, every other Tuesday.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/fresh-chicago-broils-citizens-scientists-study-heat-island-effect/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Chicago Mayor Receives Blueprint for ’Green New Deal’ to Address Environmental Justice — Inside Climate News
Advocates deliver Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson a local “Green New Deal” proposal that aims to tackle energy affordability, clean energy job opportunities, and environmental justice curricula in schools.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/energy-news-roundup-improvements-coming-to-michigans-power-grid-congress-climate-spending/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Byron nuclear station, 12 taxing bodies reach settlement on EAV — Ogle County News
The owner of an Illinois nuclear plant reaches an agreement with surrounding taxing entities on how much it owes in property taxes, settling years of ongoing appeals.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/energy-news-roundup-sulfur-smell-indiana-minnesota-power-solar-project/
By Vladislava Sukhanovskaya, Circle of Blue
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/1-2-billion-spent-one-site-deter-invasive-carp-great-lakes-other-entry-sites-possible/
On May 25, the Supreme Court ruled 9 to 0, changing wetland protection in The Clean Water Act. The Sackett family, who took on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), were being fined $40,000 a day for building their Idaho property too close to an unnamed tributary. That tributary feeds into a creek, and that creek feeds into Priest Lake.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/what-are-wetlands-for-anyway/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/pfas-news-roundup-u-s-military-proposes-health-benefits-to-veterans-how-to-identify-contaminated-foam/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Largest solar farm in Illinois will help Chicago’s city operations meet climate goal — Energy News Network
About half of the output from Illinois’ largest solar project will be devoted to offsetting the city of Chicago’s municipal electric use when it’s completed in late 2024.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/energy-news-roundup-ohio-law-solar-energy-development-line-5-michigan-continues/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Tax credits help lure solar-powered manufacturing plant, 60 new jobs to southern Illinois — Belleville News-Democrat
A new southern Illinois plant that will manufacture components for solar panels and electric vehicles also will be powered by a 15-acre onsite solar project.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/energy-news-roundup-minnesota-leading-clean-energy-coal-plant-closing-michigan/
The first efforts to stop the advance of invasive carp to the Great Lakes began in the early 2000s when electrical barriers in the Chicago Area Waterway System leading to Lake Michigan were thought to be a deterrent.
The fear was that if the voracious carp entered the lake, they could expand their range, wipe out the food supply and eventually devastate the multi-billion dollar Great Lakes fishery.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/illinois-feds-grapple-agreement-advance-billion-dollar-plan-stop-invasive-carp/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
House passes bill to bar officials convicted of corruption from holding public office — Capitol News Illinois
Illinois lawmakers advance an ethics bill barring anyone convicted of certain crimes while in office from serving again, two weeks after guilty verdicts were handed down in the “ComEd Four” trial.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/energy-news-roundup-illinois-house-passes-ethics-bill-epa-rule-in-indiana/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Jury convicts all four defendants in ComEd bribery trial — and fires a warning shot at Michael Madigan — Chicago-Sun Times
A jury finds all four defendants guilty of bribery conspiracy in a case involving former ComEd executives accused of arranging jobs, contracts and money for allies of former democratic Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan in exchange for favorable legislation.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/energy-news-roundup-hydrogen-fuel-plant-michigan-un-recommends-shutting-down-line-5/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Chicago’s Blacks in Green gets a major boost from a $10 million EPA grant — Energy News Network
Chicago’s Blacks in Green receives a five-year, $10 million U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/energy-news-roundup-line-5-negotiations-michigan-funding-clean-energy-illinois/
