Today’s Daily Chicagoan is brought to you, in part, by: It’s Friday. End a long work week with these stories from WTTW News.  The author’s parkway plantings. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) Patty Wetli: I spent a lot of time this past week watching a robin attempt to build a nest in what struck me as the dumbest place possible — a weird nook in our building’s rear porch stairs. “There are trees. In a park. Right … next … door,” I said to my husband. “I don’t get it.” “Remember, the bird has a pea brain,” he replied. Well then, what’s my excuse?

Today’s Daily Chicagoan is brought to you, in part, by: It’s May Day today and local organizers have a demonstration planned. That story and more from WTTW News.  Protesters gather at Union Park the morning of May 1, 2025. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News) As Gov. JB Pritzker calls on Democrats to be more aggressive in their fight against the Trump administration, organizers in Chicago and across the national are planning May Day protest rallies today.

Today’s Daily Chicagoan is brought to you, in part, by: Today we bring you stories on the local impacts of tariffs, the latest on the Michael Madigan case and a look at how the new clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court is looking to modernize the system.  (Courtesy of Northwestern University) President Donald Trump has made moves to freeze federal funding to elite universities, citing a rise in antisemitic attacks and institutions’ inadequate responses to fight against the hateful rhetoric and acts.

Today’s Daily Chicagoan is brought to you, in part, by: It’s Tuesday. Dive into these stories from WTTW News on Illinois wildlife, Chicago’s ongoing curfew debate and how “rat birth control” might solve the city’s vermin problem.  Habitat protections have been vital to the survival of the northern spotted owl.

Today’s Daily Chicagoan is brought to you, in part, by: It’s Monday. There’s a big shift happening in Illinois politics and we’ll walk you through the potential players. Plus, what local scientific researchers are saying about federal cuts and the history of an "exploding" scoreboard.  Top left to right: U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi. Bottom left to right: U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, former Illinois state Rep.

Happy Friday, Chicago. Enter your weekend with these stories from WTTW News.  (Pixabay)  Patty Wetli: In a case of the worst timing ever, Illinois environmentalists were poised to make serious headway in the battle against single-use plastics just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Proposed legislation to ban certain types of takeout containers fell by the wayside. Plastic bag usage ramped back up, in spite of Chicago’s 7-cent bag tax, in large part because reusable bags were (wrongly) thought to be a potential source of virus transmission.

It’s Thursday and the 41st birthday of our flagship program, “Chicago Tonight.” Today, we bring you the latest stories from the U.S. Senate, the suburbs and City Hall.  Sen. Dick Durbin appears on "Chicago Tonight" on May 23, 2023. (WTTW News) U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin announced Wednesday he will not seek a sixth term in the U.S. Senate, setting off a scramble for a rare open seat that will reshape Illinois politics. Durbin, 80, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, will end his political career after serving 14 years in the U.S.

Today we have stories on butterfly migration, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez's next job and reaction from the autism community on recent comments from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  Mayor Brandon Johnson addresses the news media on Tuesday, April 22. (Heather Cherone/WTTW News) Two months after Mayor Brandon Johnson formed a task force to examine how to rid the Chicago Police Department of officers with ties to extremist and anti-government groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, the effort has yet to show any sign of public progress.

It’s Tuesday. We have the latest on the city’s budget woes as well as local reaction to the death of Pope Francis.  Mayor Brandon Johnson addresses the news media on Monday, April 21, 2025. (Heather Cherone/WTTW News) Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday sounded the alarm about the financial crisis facing the city, warning Chicagoans that the city “will have to do more with less” as President Donald Trump threatens to upend its finances and officials confront the results of decades of financial mismanagement.

Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff who ministered with a humble style, is dead at 88. Plus, more essential stories from WTTW News.  A still from Filipino director Lino Brocka’s film “Bona,” released in 1980, starring Nora Aunor as Bona. A new 4K restoration of the film will make its Chicago premiere at the Gene Siskel Film Center this month.