This Friday, read up on Gov. JB Pritzker’s pointed testimony to Congress, preparations for this weekend’s protests and a reflection on local coyotes.  A coyote mom with pup are pictured in a file photo. (twildlife / iStock) Patty Wetli: This week, I received an email from the fella who thinks he and his dog likely prompted Graceland Cemetery’s ban on dogs from the grounds, at least while adult coyotes on the premises were actively defending their newborn pups.

WTTW News has the latest on the tough choices facing public transit as funding stalls in Springfield. Plus, a look at a new measure on short-term rentals and more.  (Rawf8 / iStock) Chicago Transit Authority Acting President Nora Leerhsen said the agency has entered a “new phase” after the Illinois General Assembly failed last month to pass a measure tackling a $770 million budget gap for Chicago-area transit.

Today, WTTW News has stories on tariffs, Lake Michigan’s water cribs and the Joffrey Ballet. Plus, live music recommendations and more.   (WTTW News) Businesses are starting to feel the impact of steel and aluminum tariffs that took effect Wednesday. The Trump administration is putting a 50% tax on these metals when they’re imported from other countries. Backers say it’s an effort to protect national security and promote more domestic manufacturing, but critics say it could needlessly drive up costs.

This Tuesday, read up on the invasive plants infesting Chicagoland’s forests, an update on Michael Madigan’s impending sentence and the local history of the gyro.  A volunteer helps remove buckthorn. (The Morton Arboretum) European buckthorn — an ornamental shrub that escaped cultivation — has earned a reputation as public enemy No. 1 for ecologists and conservationists. Like most invasives, it crowds out native plants, creating a mono-culture that offers few benefits to wildlife.

It’s Monday. Start the week off by learning more about Chicago with these stories from WTTW News.  (WTTW News) Private waste haulers were slapped with nearly 200 tickets for illegal, early-morning pickups during the first six months of a new enforcement. That’s according to records obtained by WTTW News from the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation, which began coordinating the crackdown through a newly created 311 complaint category in October 2024. Trash and recycling companies aren’t allowed to make pickups in Chicago between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

It’s Friday. WTTW News reports on a Chicago Police officer who was killed last night in Chatham, science and nature reporter Patty Wetli has a new column and more.  Double rainbow, June 4, 2025. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) Patty Wetli: Earlier this week, I was walking home from the gym, complaining to my husband that life was missing a certain joie de vivre. And then bam! Nature sent me a double rainbow. Maybe you saw it Wednesday night — it was spectacular and lasted forever.

It’s Thursday. Beware that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency issued an air pollution “action day” as smoke from Canadian wildfires makes its way into the area. Today, WTTW News reports on crime, COVID vaccines and more. Plus, scroll down for a fun fact about “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”  The Dirksen Courthouse is pictured in Chicago. (Capitol News Illinois) Federal authorities are expanding a violence prevention initiative that had previously existed solely on Chicago’s South and West sides to now include downtown and all CTA train lines.

Local MLS club the Chicago Fire want a new home — and it would be privately-funded. That and more stories this Wednesday from WTTW News.  (WTTW News) Chicago’s registry of gun offenders is “incomplete and unreliable,” a city watchdog investigation found, due to a lack of enforcement, procedural controls and inconsistent guidance.

Despite an Illinois law prohibiting data sharing agreements between state law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities, the Illinois State Police makes available the names and information of individuals who they deem to be gang members to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Illinois and its leaders have positioned the state as a protector of immigrants’ rights as the Trump administration has sent hundreds of migrants who are said to be gang members, often with limited evidence to support those claims, to a mega-prison in El Salvador.

It’s a new week and a new month, start strong with these stories from WTTW News.  U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi appears on "Chicago Tonight" on May 29, 2025. (WTTW News) A heated race is already unfolding to replace longtime U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. Since the 80-year-old senator announced his retirement last month, three Democratic candidates have launched campaigns. That includes Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and two members of congress: south suburban U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly and northwest suburban U.S.