While all eyes have been on next week’s presidential election, another important local race has flown under the radar. We’re talking about the vote for Chicago’s official bird.

Enjoy an extra hour of sleep this weekend as clocks "fall back" an hour with the return to standard time.

The 53-foot Colorado blue spruce was planted in Logan Square 50 years ago and represents a bit of neighborhood history.

Field Museum scientists have new CT scans of mummified people from the museum’s “Inside Ancient Egypt” exhibit. Researchers hope the scans will help the public see the mummified individuals as people instead of artifacts.

The fountain will shut down for the season Thursday night. 

Staying warm during Chicago’s frigid winters will get more expensive if Peoples Gas is permitted to resume its massive pipe replacement program, according to a report released Tuesday by the Citizens Utility Board, a consumer advocacy group.

Warm temperatures combined with strong winds are also creating a fire hazard in northern Illinois, the National Weather Service warned.

Thousands of Aztec marigolds grown in the University of Illinois Chicago’s research garden will play an integral role in Saturday’s Day of the Dead celebration on Chicago’s lakefront. 

Once eligibility is confirmed, city staff will deliver a free compost bin to residents’ homes, according to a news release announcing the initiative. Each ward will receive an initial allocation of 20 bins.

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside, here come the ladybug swarms.

Stink bugs — officially, brown marmorated stink bugs — aren’t fans of the cooler fall temperatures and have started heading indoors to over-winter. Don’t freak out, experts said.

The Great Lakes are likely to see more precipitation this winter, according to a newly released seasonal outlook from the Climate Prediction Center.

Two bison calves were born at Midewin in recent weeks, coming as quite a surprise considering that female bison typically give birth between April and June.

The South Side community experiences a large amount of flooding made greater than its counterparts on the North Side because of a lack of preventative infrastructure, which can cause significant damage to homes and businesses.

The planting of a non-native milkweed and the practice of captive-rearing monarch caterpillars have been identified as two possible sources of monarchs failure to survive their fall migration.  

Authorities are searching for an exotic, wild caracal cat on the loose in suburban Hoffman Estates, with officials warning residents to give the animal wide berth if they come across it.