Stories by Patty Wetli

The arctic visitors have drawn bird watchers from surrounding states.

Officials announced Wednesday that $25 million in funding had been secured to demolish Ogden Park’s existing fieldhouse and replace it with a new building.

The Chicago Fire has committed to enhanced bird protections for its proposed new stadium. Does this represent a tipping point for bird-friendly design in Chicago?

A stretch of Chicago’s southernmost lakefront long used as a toxic landfill is now one step closer to becoming parkland open to all.

Chicagoans — and folks across the country — were treated to a dazzling display of the aurora borealis (northern lights) Tuesday night and there could be an encore in the works Wednesday.

One of the hottest tickets this holiday season is passage on the Chicagoland Bookstore Trolley, spreading cheer one hardcover and paperback at a time.

The zoo is soliciting potential names for the chick, whose sex is still TBD, via its social media channels and will release the finalists next week as part of a naming contest.

Let’s hand it to the moon, it makes skywatching easy.

The tree lighting ceremony will take place Nov. 21 in Millennium Park.

Chicago has a number of towering timekeepers, some of them works of art, some of them landmarks, and all of them a reminder that time never stands still.

The city of Chicago, Cook County and the state of Illinois are joining forces to appeal the Trump Administration's denial of federal disaster relief funds that would have supported the recovery from a pair of severe flooding events this past summer.

Cook County forest preserve police will be increasing their patrols on trails after bikers harassed and assaulted other park visitors in separate incidents last weekend at Busse Woods and LaBagh Woods.

Here’s a look at the history of tear gas and why it remains so controversial.

The scariest thing about Halloween is the number of pumpkins that wind up in landfills every year. Enter the pumpkin smash. Collected gourds will be taken to compost facilities.

Nine plants were just added to Illinois’ exotic weeds list — making it illegal to buy, sell, distribute or plant them in the state.

It's been 125 years since the Chicago River was famously reversed by creating the 28-mile Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Voting is open to give the canal a new, less sewage-adjacent name.

No elevated trains will run in the Loop from 4 a.m. Saturday through 2 a.m. Monday due to track maintenance.

It's been 50 years since Sears traded in its sprawling headquarters campus on Chicago's West Side for a tower in the Loop. But the retail giant's legacy still looms large in North Lawndale.

The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus — representing 275 local governments in the Chicago metro area — has kicked off a joint recycling education campaign across six counties.

A pair of newly identified comets are jointly appearing in the October sky, and it’s possible to see both — if you know where to look and when.

The semi-annual Reuse-a-Palooza at The Plant is happening Sunday, a one-stop shop for recycling, repairing and repurposing items that would otherwise go to waste.

The addition of the library locations brings the total number of drop-off options to 33.

The case of mistaken identity was revealed in a scientific paper published Wednesday in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.

Community members lined the sidewalks outside neighborhood schools Friday afternoon in Lincoln Square, part of a rapid response mobilization following word of ICE activity in the area.

Ever seen a tree that looks like its leaves have sprouted warts or are suffering from a really bad rash? Welcome to the wild, wonderful world of plant oddities known as galls.

Pokemon Go Fest will return to Grant Park in 2026 for the first time since 2019.