Environment and Sustainability

The Town of Normal is making progress on an experimental project to remove ammonia from town water by using bacteria.

Gov. JB Pritzker has signed a battery recycling law sponsored by State Rep. Sharon Chung of Bloomington and State Sen. Dave Koehler of Peoria.

A potential huge cost looms for drinking water producers — so-called forever chemicals or PFAS. Bloomington and Normal water departments expect regulation will eventually require removal of PFAS.

Rivian and Volkswagen have signed a deal on a joint venture. The two companies will share electric vehicle architecture and software.

Even for those who are on board about recycling in McLean County, there’s confusion about what can be recycled — and perhaps some laziness about contamination. Those are among the results of a survey by the Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development for the Ecology Action Center in Normal.

Electric automaker Rivian had negative gross profit of $606 million in the fourth quarter alone. Yet the company that has a production facility in Normal said it will bridge to a modest gross profit in the fourth quarter of this year.

The college expand its electric vehicle programs with the help of a $525,000 grant from the Illinois Community College Board.

A central Illinois conservation group has acquired one of the few remaining remnants of Hill Prairie habitat in Illinois. It's called the "devil’s backbone," an old-time name for the jagged geography of the 55 acres near the Mackinaw River in Woodford County.

Gov. JB Pritzker recently voiced support for the Chicago Hub Improvement Program (CHIP), a plan that also holds promise for Amtrak service through Bloomington-Normal. The investment in transportation infrastructure would fix several problems at Union Station and connect it to two potential passenger-focused main lines.

The Town of Normal should revisit the recycling program for apartment complexes and multi-unit developments, according to Mayor Chris Koos.