Despite our green image, Chicago doesn’t exactly have the best environmental record. Yeah, there are plenty of bike lanes and green roofs, but we also have one of only two undecontaminated rivers in the nation and no real recycling program. Still, this is a town that at least wants to look like it is moving in the right direction. Just this week the City Council started discussing an ordinance that would finally shutter the city’s two ancient and dangerous coal plants, which have never lived up to the Clean Air Act. And just to the north, Evanston has begun to evaluate the Great Lakes’ first offshore wind farm. more ›

Mercury pollution is on the rise in Illinois even though it has declined across the nation. According to the Chicago Tribune, coal plants in Illinois blew 7 percent more mercury into the air last year while emissions from U.S. power plants nationwide decreased by 4 percent. Mercury is among the many toxic byproducts that emanate from coal-fired power plants. In the Chicagoland area, emissions rose at three plants but fell at two others. more ›

Evanston native Jeremy Piven has left the hit Broadway revival of David Mamet's "Speed The Plow" due to high levels of mercury. Yep, lots of mercury all in his body. Piven's exit does not come without skepticsm, specifically from Mamet himself: "I talked to Jeremy on the phone, and he told me that he discovered that he had a very high level of mercury. So my understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer." more ›