Bell Bowl Prairie saved for now as Rockford airport announces it will revisit expansion plans

Lindsay Keeney, conservation director at the environmental council, said saving the prairie is one step Illinois can take to lead a charge made by President Joe Biden to protect open space and curb climate change under the “America the Beautiful” plan. The plan aims to conserve 30% of U.S. lands and water by 2030.

Bell Bowl contains at least 164 species of plants, many of which are rare, and birders have found rare nesting birds such as the grasshopper sparrow. Only one-hundredth of 1% of this type of prairie remains in Illinois.

Read the full article here.

Read More

Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order Tuesday directing city departments to intensify scrutiny of new data centers in Chicago — a politically potent move that doesn’t unilaterally impose new limits on the fast-growing industry, but could slow its growth.
Every year, the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) issues a voting scorecard that grades members of the Illinois General Assembly on how they voted for bills affecting the environment.
Richard Chew is joined by Dany Robles, senior legislative director at the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC); he talks about IEC's 2026 Legislative Environmental Scorecard.