Stories by Patty Wetli

Maybe you’ve heard of the infamous Chicago parking meter deal. Here’s why it’s so unpopular and why it became a case study in worst practices.

Air quality hit unhealthy levels, with the Department of Public Health encouraging people to limit their time outdoors and avoid strenuous activities.

The coyote’s new home is 10 times larger than his old one, but animal rights activists still want Rocky transferred to an animal sanctuary.

"Jim gave back to the city through philanthropy and leadership on a number of civic and academic boards as he was deeply committed to investing in Chicago and its people," Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

Thousands of bees settled in Daley Plaza this week, but the prize for craziest infestation goes to tiny Elko, Nev., which has been overrun by millions of crickets.

Individual pool schedules will be posted to the district’s website.

A 19-year-old woman was seen struggling in the water Wednesday night.

It’s official: Just three months after being placed on Preservation Chicago’s “Most Endangered” list, the Warehouse — the birthplace of House music — is now a Chicago landmark.

The drowning was the second in a week along the Northwest Indiana lakefront. Chicago police are also investigating the death of a man pulled from the lake near Rogers Park. 

Brookfield Zoo has really big news to share: It’s on baby watch for a new giraffe. Arnieta, a 16-year-old reticulated giraffe, is due to deliver sometime between mid-July and late August, according to zoo officials.

Thunderstorms are as much a part of the rhythm of summer in Chicago as cookouts, baseball and street festivals. And they’ve been missing in 2023.

According to the National Weather Service, conditions continue to deteriorate across Northeast Illinois, with the Chicago metro area experiencing the most significant rainfall deficits. 

Drew Gronewold, an expert in hydrological modeling at the University of Michigan, presented his annual update on Great Lakes’ water levels. Lake Michigan is holding steady, but for how long?

The boy went missing in the water near the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk Beach in Indiana. This marks the seventh drowning in Lake Michigan in 2023.

The increases, MCA’s first since 2017, were approved Wednesday by the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners and will affect residents and non-residents alike, though the latter is getting hit harder.

After a rough summer in 2022 when a lifeguard shortage left the Chicago Park District scrambling to open even a fraction of its pools, the district doubled down on recruitment efforts in 2023.

Riot Fest received permit approval from the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners on Wednesday, over the objections of opponents who’ve campaigned for more than a year to keep the festival out of Douglass Park.

City officials shared the latest plans for road closures, detours and alternate routes in advance of the upcoming NASCAR Street Race, and it’s going to be a bumpy ride for commuters.

Wildlife officials believe the bear spotted over the weekend in Antioch is the same one seen last Wednesday in Gurnee.

Piping plovers might not be on the nest in Chicago this year, but 2023 is shaping up as a banner breeding year for the birds across the Great Lakes.

When it comes to alleviating the impacts of climate change, trees have been promoted as the ultimate “green infrastructure.” But trees are living organisms, and they can be sensitive to some of the same climate stressors as people. But just how sensitive?

A black bear was caught on video running through the parking lot of a Gurnee daycare. Wildlife officials confirmed the sighting as the real deal.

With large swaths of the U.S. shrouded in smoke from Canadian wildfires, now's a good time to review the basics of the Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Index.

Pending final approval, Openlands will transfer the Lakeshore Preserve to the Lake County Forest Preserves, which owns the adjacent 250-acre Fort Sheridan preserve.

Chicago is one of 18 cities chosen for the Heat Watch Campaign, which will map the city's urban heat islands — places with fewer trees and more pavement, where temperatures can soar 20 degrees higher than surrounding areas.

This time of year, Shedd Aquarium biologist Melissa Youngquist can be found in the woods, sloshing through ponds in search of signs of amphibian life.