"With just five words quietly slipped into legislation, Illinois lawmakers are moving to include tire burning in the state's definition of renewable energy, a change that would benefit a south suburban incinerator with a long history of pollution problems."

"A federal judge has sided with a Midwestern energy company, agreeing to dismiss allegations of Clean Air Act violations at five Illinois coal-fired power plants and partially dismiss claims of violations at a sixth plant."

"Illinois is moving to phase out the use of perchloroethylene, or perc, a common dry-cleaning chemical linked to cancer, liver damage and neurological problems."

"Bipartisan legislation that promises the largest federal investment ever to clean up the Great Lakes -- $650 million annually for the next five years -- has been introduced in the Senate and in the House to applause from environmental groups."
 

"Proposals to block Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes have largely focused on the costs and inconvenience of closing off Chicago-area waterways into Lake Michigan. But now business and environmental groups are exploring a possible upside: a broadly based infrastructure investment that would benefit much of northern Illinois."

"The U.S. arm of chemical giant LyondellBasell is in negotiations to settle its environmental cleanup liabilities — which include the Kalamazoo River Superfund site — with the U.S. government, according to a company spokesman."

"In the early 1980s, the cancer deaths of four little girls — whose bodies were so tiny they could fit in shoe boxes — forced Hazel Johnson to shift the focus of an organization she'd recently founded."

"The Obama administration has developed a five-year blueprint for rescuing the Great Lakes, a sprawling ecosystem plagued by toxic contamination, shrinking wildlife habitat and invasive species."