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Chicago

Environmental Advocates Keep Eyes on Iconic Chicago Silos as Demolition Resumes

For months, activists have been surveilling the Damen Silos demolition to ensure that environmental protection measures are in place and enforced.

By Aydali Campa

The organizers are standing in a cluster in the foreground. Beyond them are the silos, tagged with graffiti, and demolition equipment.
Gov. JB Pritzker speaks at the groundbreaking of the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park on Tuesday in Chicago. Credit: Keerti Gopal/Inside Climate News

As Chicago Quantum Campus Breaks Ground, Residents Call for Community Benefits

By Keerti Gopal

A worker replaces a main water lead pipe at a home in Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood on July 25. Credit: Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Chicago Has Hundreds of Thousands of Toxic Lead Pipes—and Millions of Unspent Dollars to Replace Them

By Keerti Gopal, Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco

People in blue swim caps and neon orange buoys swim under a bridge in the Chicago River past people in kayaks

‘A Really Monumental Day’ for Chicago River: Clean Enough for Hundreds to Swim In

By Leigh Giangreco

A dust storm travels through Illinois on May 16, as seen from the National Weather Service office in Romeoville near Chicago. Credit: NWS

Dust Storms Surprise the Midwest and Raise Worries About Climate Risks

By Nikita Ponomarenko

Peoples Gas plans to remediate a contaminated site on Chicago’s South Side, next to a park on what used to be the rest of the company’s property there. Credit: Charna Albert/Inside Climate News

A Contaminated Riverside Lot in Chicago’s Bridgeport Neighborhood Is Poised for Cleanup by Peoples Gas

By Charna Albert

Krystyna Kurth, with the Shedd Aquarium, shows Elise Mulligan jewelweed as they kayak down the Chicago River. Credit: Leigh Giangreco/Inside Climate News

In the Once Heavily Polluted Chicago River, More Fish, a Giant Snapping Turtle and an Upcoming Swim

By Leigh Giangreco

Samuel Corona (right) and Katia Balba give a “toxic tour” at Steelworkers Park in Chicago with their organization, Alliance of the Southeast, on July 17. Credit: Fern Alling/Inside Clean Energy

Despite HUD Mandate Withdrawal, the Push for Clean Air Moves Forward in Chicago

By Fern Alling

Gina Ramirez, like many Chicago residents, has a lead service line at her home on the Southeast Side (address has been blurred). Credit: Keerti Gopal/Inside Climate News

Chicago Has a Huge Lead Pipe Problem—and We Mapped It

By Keerti Gopal, Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, Peter Aldhous, Clayton Aldern, Amy Qin

Reporters Keerti Gopal (left) and Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco interview a Chicago resident at his home, which has a water service line made of lead. Credit: Anthony Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times

How We Mapped Chicago’s Lead Pipe Problem and What We Learned

By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, Keerti Gopal, Peter Aldhous, Clayton Aldern, Amy Qin

Colton Wyatt shows off a lead water testing kit at his home in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood. Credit: Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Lead Pipes Are Everywhere in Chicago. Here’s How to Protect Yourself

By Sophia Kalakailo, City Bureau

A Canada goose swims in Lake Michigan next to the Chicago Area Confined Disposal Facility in Chicago’s Southeast Side. Credit: Christiana Freitag/Inside Climate News

A Toxic Landfill Was on the Brink of Expanding. Residents Fought Back and Won

By Christiana Freitag

A lifeguard stands watch amid a haze of Canadian wildfire smoke at Loyola Beach on Chicago’s North Side in June. The West and South sides of the city get heavy air pollution all year. Credit: Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Chicago Aims To Have Most Air Pollution Sensors in the US

By Brett Chase, Chicago Sun-Times

Samuel Corona (right), an activist with the Alliance of the Southeast, chants, “Stop General Iron” outside Chicago’s City Hall. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says it will no longer monitor a civil rights agreement with Chicago over the controversial scrap metal operation. Credit: Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Trump Dismisses Civil Rights, Fair Housing Cases in Chicago To Focus on ‘Real Concerns’

By Brett Chase, Chicago Sun-Times

She is filling an orange bowl with water from her sink, which has a filter attached. Beside the sink is a filtered water pitcher.

Chicago Was Supposed to Warn Residents About Toxic Lead Pipes. It’s Barely Started

By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, Keerti Gopal

The Chicago skyline is seen through the Damen Silos. Credit: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

These Century-Old Chicago Silos Are Slated for Demolition. Neighbors Want to Save Them

By Charna Albert

Cheryl Johnson (left), executive director of People for Community Recovery and the daughter of Hazel Johnson, stands next to Chicago Department of Environment Commissioner Angela Tovar, as she speaks at a rally outside of City Hall in April. Credit: Keerti Gopal/Inside Climate News

In Chicago, a Landmark Environmental Justice Bill Inches Toward Passage

By Siri Chilukuri

A man cools off in the shade at Daley Plaza as temperatures climbed into the mid-90s on June 23 in Chicago. Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images

How Do You Escape a Heat Wave When You Have Nowhere to Go?

By Keerti Gopal

A construction crew completes a lead service line replacement at a Chicago home in June 2023. Credit: Vanessa Bly/NRDC

Chicago’s Plan to Replace Lead Pipes Puts It 30 Years Behind the Federal Deadline

By Keerti Gopal, Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco

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