September 2026

September 8, 2026 Chicago Construction News
Chicago considers mandatory bird-friendly building standards for new construction

September 6, 2026 CBS Chicago
Proposed ordinance aims to make Chicago buildings safer for birds


July 2026

July 16, 2026 WTTW News
Chicago’s Bird-Friendly Building Ordinance Freed From City Council Limbo, Zoning Committee Is Next Hurdle


June 2026

June 12, 2026 Chicago Sun-Times
Jeanne Gang’s latest exhibition is for the birds — just as it should be

June 9, 2026 Chicago Tribune
Chicago Architecture Center exhibit shows buildings and nature don’t have to be at odds

May 2026

May 22, 2026 Chicago Tribune
At peak time for migratory birds flying through Chicago, birding groups are tracking deadly window collisions

April 2026

April 20, 2026 WTTW News
New Bird-Friendly Building Ordinance Stuck in City Council Purgatory, But Lead Sponsor Says Measure Still Has Wings

July 2025

July 23, 2025 WTTW News
Is a Bird-Friendly Building Ordinance Back on the Table? City Council Hearing Reignites Debate

May 2025

May 2025 New York Times
An Illinois Building Was a Bird Killer. A Simple Change Made a World of Difference

January 2025

January 8, 2025 NBC Chicago
Bird strikes drop by more than 95% at McCormick Place after bird-safe film installed

June 2024

June 18, 2024 New York Times
More Than 1,000 Birds Died One Night in Chicago. Will It Happen Again?

April 2024

April 16, 2024 WGN Chicago
Why is the Chicago skyline so deadly for birds? And what is being done about it?

December 2023

December 27, 2023 Smithsonian Magazine
Almost 1,000 Birds Died in One Night From Striking a Chicago Building

December 27, 2023 The Guardian
US buildings kill up to a billion birds a year. These architects want to save them

October 2023

October 10, 2023 American Bird Conservancy
1,000 Birds Dead in One Night After Colliding with a Single Chicago Building

October 6, 2023 Chicago Sun-Times
About 1,000 birds killed after colliding into McCormick Place Lakeside Center in one ‘tragic,’ deadly night

February 2022

October 6, 2023 Glass Guides
Bird-Safety Glass Act Goes into Effect in Illinois

March 2020

March 27, 2020 - In an important step toward a Bird Safe Building Ordinance, Chicago City Council passed ordinance O2020-136. The ordinance amends the city’s Sustainable Development Policy to give greater weight to bird protection , “with the goal of reducing avian mortality and injury from circumstances that are known to pose a high risk to birds.”

Bird Friendly Chicago / Download Announcement

April 2019

April 26, 2019 Vancouver Sun
Bird-friendly windows reduce collision deaths at UBC: Because birds can’t perceive glass, especially when lit up from the inside at night, they fly into windows and are killed

April 5, 2019 Chicago Tribune
Migrating birds need a helping hand as they fly through Chicago


April 4, 2019 Chicago Tribune
As many as a billion birds are killed crashing into buildings each year — and Chicago’s skyline is the most dangerous area in the country

April 1, 2019 Bird Friendly Chicago / Download Press Release

Comprehensive study by Cornell Lab of Ornithology finds Chicago the most dangerous city for exposing migrating birds to the growing threat caused by light from large metropolitan areas.

In the words of the study, “The combination of large amounts of nocturnal illumination and their location in the most trafficked air space across the US elevate metropolitan Chicago, Houston, and Dallas to the top…. While all urban areas should take care to minimize ALAN (artificial light at night), our analysis indicates that actions taken in these particular cities would benefit the largest numbers of birds.”

January 2019

January 23, 2019 Bird Friendly Chicago / Download Press Release

Alderman Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) introduced in Chicago City Council today the Bird Friendly Design Ordinance (O2019-320). ”This ordinance makes the powerful statement that as we build an ever more vibrant and dynamic city, we will do so in a way that minimizes our city’s negative impact on native and migratory birds.” - Ald Brian Hopkins