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This Wednesday, get over the weekday hump with these stories from WTTW News.
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An oil well pumpjack is pictured. (arcturusangel / Morguefile)
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Anyone who has driven the back roads of southern and central Illinois is familiar with the sight of the oil pumpjacks that dot the landscape.
Decades ago, it was common to see those machines bobbing up and down like those drinking-bird toys that seem to operate on perpetual motion, pulling up oil from hundreds of feet below the surface to fuel the region’s burgeoning transportation industry.
Today, however, most of those pumpjacks sit idle, either because the oil below has all been pumped out or the cost of pumping what remains underground exceeds what the market would pay.
Now, a new report suggests those pumpjacks — and the inactive oil and gas wells that lie below them — are more than just relics of a bygone industry. They also could be environmental time bombs lurking underground, threatening to expose Illinois taxpayers to more than $1 billion in future clean-up costs.
“The majority of Illinois’s 30,000+ wells are likely producing little to no oil, yet are still not properly plugged, emitting toxic and climate pollutants and threatening air and drinking water relied on by nearby communities,” the report states.
More context:
The report is based on research from the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law and the environmental advocacy group ClientEarth USA.
It says the potential liability facing the state may be much larger than officials have acknowledged so far. But it also says the lack of reliable data about the working status of oil and gas wells in the state, coupled with the state’s weak regulatory framework, makes it hard to know the exact size and scope of the threat Illinois faces. Thus, it’s nearly impossible to hold drilling companies accountable for paying the costs themselves.
“The fundamental point is, whatever amount of a problem we've got, it's the industry's responsibility to deal with it, and that's what the system is not achieving,” Robert Weinstock, director of Northwestern’s Environmental Advocacy Center and lead author of the report, said in a recent interview.
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(WTTW News)
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The Chicago Reader has returned to print after a temporary hiatus that began in December. The Reader was founded in 1971 by a group of Carleton College students. Its recent history has been marked by financial turmoil, rotating ownership and an “imminent risk of closure.”
In August, the Reader was acquired by Noisy Creek, a startup publishing company based in Washington state focused on acquiring and restoring troubled alternative news sources. The publisher also owns The Seattle Stranger and The Portland Mercury. The Reader has since transitioned from a weekly newspaper format to a monthly magazine, with Noisy Creek citing a better experience for the publication’s audience and advertisers.
The Reader’s first issue since its hiatus hit newsstands Feb. 4 at more than 600 locations across Chicago. The cover shows a cracking egg with the caption “New Egg, Who Dis?” symbolizing a new era for the publication. In an editor’s note, new editor-in-chief Sarah Conway wrote that “the Reader is entering its own moment of rebirth.”
Conway started her position Jan. 5, coming over from City Bureau, where she won a Pulitzer Prize in local reporting for her “Missing in Chicago” series.
A new format:
Conway said the Reader’s new magazine format will lend itself to longer-form stories and larger projects.
“We are now a print monthly newspaper, which means that we are going to be bringing you features, investigations, a culture curated calendar called ‘Reader Radar,’ which is full of events,” Conway said.
Print journalism has seen a decline in recent years as people turn to online news and social media. But the Reader still sees the value in physical media, Conway said.
“Our print monthly is going to be something that we want as an analog paper product that lives in your home,” Conway said. “We want it to be something that readers can really sit with.”
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Mayor Brandon Johnson addresses the news media on Feb. 10, 2026. (Heather Cherone/WTTW News)
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Mayor Brandon Johnson vowed Tuesday to “push back” after the Trump administration rejected officials’ pleas for disaster relief funds after storms flooded basements across the Southwest Side twice during the summer of 2025.
Chicagoans “suffered tremendously” during those storms and should be able to rely on the federal government for help, Johnson said Tuesday.
“We’re going to push back,” Johnson said at a City Hall news conference. “It’s unfortunate that this administration has shown so much animus towards working people. But I’m going to use every single tool that’s available to me, to protect our people in our city, to ensure that we receive our fair share in the federal government, particularly when these families desperately need relief as quickly as possible.”
Gov. JB Pritzker, a frequent critic of the president who has declined to rule out a run for president in 2028, called the decision to reject Illinois’ appeal a “politically motivated decision that punishes thousands of Illinois families in a critical moment of need.”
Some backstory:
State officials asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to authorize assistance for residents who suffered damage during the storms that swept the nation Aug. 16-19, 2025.
The deluge overwhelmed the city’s sewer system in neighborhoods like Garfield Ridge, sending sewage into basements. That left homeowners struggling to clean up the mess and remove mold and other water damage, according to the state’s plea for help.
While the president approved disaster relief for residents of Alaska, Nebraska, North Dakota, all states he won during the 2024 election, he denied requests from Illinois, Maryland and Vermont, all states he lost.
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More From WTTW News:
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Back in the Day: February 11, 1966 - Martin Luther King Jr. Floats Business Boycott
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In early 1966, Martin Luther King Jr., then 37 years old and coming off massive victories in the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, turned his attention to Chicago. In January, he and his wife, Coretta Scott King, moved into a $90-a-month North Lawndale apartment in a dilapidated building run by a slumlord to raise awareness about unfair real estate practices, redlining, and the structural segregation throughout the city. On this day 60 years ago, King threatened a boycott against local businesses that refused to hire Black workers. The effort was part of the Civil Rights Movement’s Operation Breadbasket, which began in Atlanta. “If you respect a
person’s dollar, you must respect the person,” said King. “The Negro has buying power and his right to maintain that buying power has to be upheld.”
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Chicago-Area Live Music Recommendations for Feb. 11-17
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Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.
Thursday, Feb. 12:
Jana Horn, James Elkington at Judson and Moore. Tickets.
The self-titled new album from this Brooklyn singer-songwriter is already one of the year’s best.
Friday, Feb. 13:
Hard Country Honky Tonk with The Hoyle Brothers at Empty Bottle. Free.
At 5:30, every Friday, cut a rug in Ukrainian Village with the weekly early evening residency of local honky tonkers.
Feller, Hazel City, TV Buddha at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
Two local acts celebrate new albums. Get there early for Hazel City, the solo project of Twin Peaks and Grapetooth’s Clay Frankel.
Saturday, Feb. 14:
Lola Kirke at Old Town School of Folk Music. Tickets.
The indie pop artist will perform at the Lincoln Square venue’s Myron R. Szold Music & Dance Hall.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at Old Town School of Folk Music. Tickets.
The veteran indie rocker Alec Ounsworth will perform a stripped-down piano set at the Lincoln Square venue’s Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall.
Sunday, Feb. 15:
Derrick Carter, Analog Soul, Patrice Scott, Michael Serafini, more at Smartbar. Tickets.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with an all-night set of house music from local legends.
Edging, Robot Civil War, mail., Griefeater, The Darkhorse Collective, Cusp, more at Beat Kitchen. Tickets.
An all-day punk festival benefitting the National Immigrant Justice Center.
Black Belt Eagle Scout + Mato Wayuhi, Ailani at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
This excellently curated show is presented by the Center for Native Futures.
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What's your ideal date night in Chicago?
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
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