WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

The 10 most extreme floods in northeast Illinois all occurred after 1950, but Chicagoans don’t need mathematical models to know flooding is a problem.

President Barack Obama visited Argonne National Laboratory Friday, calling on Congress to flag oil and gas money for research that could help wean the nation’s vehicles off oil. He also addressed critical budget cuts to basic scientific research.

So far there is no high-volume fracking in Illinois, but the House Speaker’s proposal pre-empts the passage of a regulatory bill that would set up a permitting process and potentially permit drilling in a matter of months.

Illinois produces the most nuclear power of any state in the union, and houses some of the most high-tech nuclear research. But does our state have a nuclear future?

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin says an aging population and returning veterans' increasing need for prosthetics or orthotics is quickly outpacing the number of clinicians available. 

Illinois became the 20th state to document White-Nose Syndrome, a disease blamed for more than 5.7 million bat deaths since its discovery in 2006. Perhaps as troubling as the disease’s severity is how little scientists know about its pathology.