Progress Illinois

A report by Natural Resources Defense Council recognizes two Illinois cities for leadership in implementing green infrastructure strategies to deal with stormwater challenges. Chicago and Aurora are among the list of 14 US communities highlighted in the Rooftops to Rivers II report.

Earlier this week, the Obama administration jumped into a longstanding debate over how clean regional officials should keep the Chicago River. We offer a brief history lesson of the controversy.

After four long years of negotiations, the federal Great Lakes Basin Compact -- a plan to protect the world’s largest supply of freshwater from being diverted across the country -- goes into effect today.

It seemed touch and go
at times, but all eight states that make ...

A decade-long effort to prevent the world's
largest supply of fresh water from being diverted from the region won a
hard-fought victory when the Great Lakes Basin Compact was signed into law
in early October. But some environmentalists are concerned that the
...

When United Nations officials cast the dire warning that freshwater
shortage would effect two-thirds of the world's population by 2025,
people in the Great Lakes Region began looking over their shoulders.
The idea that powerful forces could set their sights on tapping ...

Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee approved the Great Lakes
Compact, an eight state agreement designed to protect water from the
lakes from being diverted outside the region. Lawmakers have been
trying to fast-track approval of the compact, which has bipartisan
...

Over the last few months, we've watched state after state join the Great
Lakes Compact, a regional agreement aimed at protecting the waters from outside exploitation. Michigan Gov. Jennifer
Granholm signed off
on legislation approving the compact yesterday. ...

On Friday, Ohio became the latest state to approve the Great Lakes Compact, joining Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota, and New York. This leaves only two of the eight Great Lakes states -- Michigan and Pennsylvania -- that are yet to sign the agreement, which would ...

With an accord reached Tuesday between Democratic and Republican state lawmakers, Ohio will become the sixth state to ratify the Great Lakes Compact:

Ohio had been a major obstacle to the pact because of a disagreement over whether the plan would inadvertently violate ...