Michael Hawthorne

Michael Hawthorne is a Pulitzer-finalist investigative reporter who focuses on the environment and public health for the Chicago Tribune. A downstate Illinois native, Hawthorne joined the Tribune in 2004 after covering the environment and state government in Ohio, Illinois and Florida.

State Sen. Sara Feigenholtz and Paul Kendrick, a candidate for the Illinois House 12th District, cheer as they arrive to a watch party on March 17, 2026, at El Jardin in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. (Talia Sprague/for the Chicago Tribune)

Illinois primaries set stage for November general election amid upsets and lawmakers keeping safe seats

March 20, 2026 at 1:21 p.m.

Two primary challengers declared victory against veteran incumbent Illinois lawmakers in the race for the nomination to their House seats Tuesday night.

Discarded lead pipe that was removed from a home in the 10100 block of South Green Street is seen on May 2, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

President Donald Trump promises clean water. His proposed budget guts needed protections.

July 6, 2025 at 5:05 a.m.

Illinois’ share of clean water grants to states would dip to $11 million next year, compared with $105.5 million this year.

Kincaid Generation coal-fired power station in Pawnee, Illinois, on May 8, 2025. In an attempt to revive the nation’s dwindling coal industry, President Donald Trump threw a lifeline to a few dozen energy companies, including Vistra's Kincaid, encouraging them to apply for exemptions from the latest federal limits on soot, mercury and other toxic air pollution. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Illinois coal plants get Trump exemptions from Biden-era rule limiting mercury, other toxic air pollution

May 25, 2025 at 7:05 p.m.

If the Illinois Climate and Equitable Jobs Act survives Trump’s promised legal challenge, Vistra and NRG plants would need to shut down by 2030.

Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago on Nov. 8, 2024. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Trump organization to pay $4.8M to settle fish-kill lawsuit against its Chicago high-rise

May 22, 2025 at 10:15 p.m.

Eight months after a Cook County judge found Trump Tower repeatedly violated clean water laws, the president's business operators agreed Thursday to pay $4.8 million to settle lawsuits alleging the...

3M's Cordova chemical plant on the Mississippi River upstream from the Quad Cities on Dec. 7, 2022. The company dumps highly toxic PFAS chemicals into the river and has contaminated hundreds of acres near the plant by spreading the plant's sewage sludge on land owned by 3M. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Trump EPA gutting limits on certain forever chemicals, delaying deadline to reduce others

May 14, 2025 at 8:04 p.m.

PFOA and PFOS have been found in the drinking water of 200 million Americans, including 6 out of 10 Illinoisans.

Miners drive down to a coal mine near Marissa, in 2011. The mine is part of Prairie State Generating Co. (Zbigniew Bzdak/ Chicago Tribune)

Trump’s love affair with dirty coal can’t compete with market realities

April 13, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Executive orders unlikely to help coal, once a dominant sector of the economy but now in steep decline because it can’t compete against cleaner, less-expensive energy sources.

U.S. Steel Gary Works sits along the shore of Lake Michigan in Gary, Jan. 23, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

As Trump dismantles EPA, Great Lakes states with a history of pollution likely will suffer

April 2, 2025 at 1:04 p.m.

Mass firings and regulatory rollbacks come as scientists routinely determine pollution is far more damaging than previously thought.

Workers from Chicago's Department of Water Management replace a water main on North Mobile Avenue near Diversey Avenue on Jan. 14, 2021. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Fixing water mains installed too close to sewer lines could cost Chicago millions, IG report says

February 20, 2025 at 9:16 a.m.

In more than 1,200 spots in the city, work performed by water department contractors failed to comply with state and local health regulations.

The downtown Chicago skyline can be seen beyond the Harrison-Dever water intake crib in Lake Michigan on June 22, 2022, in Chicago. Water is pumped through a 20-foot diameter tunnel that runs underneath the lake and connects the crib complex to the James W. Jardine Water Purification Plant north of Navy Pier. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune)

Trump administration moves to oust EPA staff in Great Lakes region, including dozens responsible for protecting drinking water

February 11, 2025 at 10:15 a.m.

The Trump administration is moving to fire or force out more than 20% of the agency's Chicago staff.

Sludge from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District is dumped and spread on farm fields in Will County on June 15, 2022. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune)

EPA warns of toxic forever chemicals in sewage sludge used on farmland, including thousands of acres near the Chicago area

January 15, 2025 at 6:43 a.m.

In northeast Illinois, more than 777,000 tons of sludge from Chicago and Cook County have been spread on farmland — in many cases near residential areas.

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