Stories by Patty Wetli

Chicagoans’ view of Thursday morning’s “ring of fire” solar eclipse was over before most people were awake.

To coincide with the reopening of Chicago, a number of museums will stay open late on Friday for an after-hours experience.

Where some see the return of Riot Fest as a step in the right direction for Chicago’s reopening, others say closing their neighborhood green space for a “riot for rich people” is a “slap in the face” to communities traumatized by COVID-19.

“Trees need care like streets need repairing,” said Malcolm Whiteside, deputy commissioner for Chicago’s Department of Forestry, who threw his support behind the creation of an Urban Forestry Advisory Board.

More than 450 free programs are scheduled this summer at parks as a way for Chicagoans to reconnect with the city's arts and culture offerings in their own communities.

Artist Philip Juras spent more than five years visiting prairie remnants in Illinois, capturing the beauty of the state’s signature landscape past and present. An exhibit of his paintings is now on view at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

The latest chapter in the saga of Chicago’s beloved plovers, Monty and Rose, is a sad one, with wildlife officials reporting the couple’s 2021 clutch of eggs has been lost to a skunk attack. Plover monitors are hopeful the couple will build a second nest. 

Spicy popcorn cicadas, anyone? Not so fast, the Food and Drug Administration warns, if you have a shellfish allergy. The insects are related to shrimp and lobster. 

Though it may have been one of the quirkier bills passed by the General Assembly, the designation recognizes the role Illinois played in the development of one of the world’s greatest wonder drugs: penicillin.

To counter a pervasive, if unconscious, bias toward male birds within North American ornithology and hobbyist circles, a group dubbed the Galbatross Project launched Female Bird Day, now in its second year, running Memorial Day weekend.

For three months out of the year, Chicago’s every bit as much of a beach town as Los Angeles or Miami. As we kick off summer 2021, here are some things you might not know about the city’s sandy shore.

Along with the kick off to beach season, a number of other outdoor attractions are opening up in Chicago over Memorial Day weekend.

Surveillance cameras recently captured images of a mylar balloon bumping up against the nesting site of Chicago’s beloved pair of piping plovers. Wildlife advocates have long been critical of such inflatables and the dangers they pose to birds and other animals.

More than 1 million travelers are projected to pass through O’Hare and Midway airports over Memorial Day weekend, and the Department of Aviation wants people to know that masks are required.

The city’s lakefront beaches will officially open Friday for the first time since 2019, with lifeguards on duty and concessions returning. 

The unusually high volume of seeds falling from trees this spring, especially from the city’s elms, is indicative of drought, said Jeff Brink, senior forester with the Chicago Department of Transportation.

Chicagoans aren’t in the right place or time zone to see Wednesday’s lunar eclipse at its peak. Just when the show gets interesting, the moon will sink from view.

Chicago has seen more police chiefs than mayors in its nearly 200-year history. Occupants of the powerful, high-profile position walk a political tightrope, and have suffered some epic falls. Here’s a look at the legacy of the city’s most recent superintendents. 

Liam Durnan has been on a yearlong caper, hiking all 350 miles of Cook County forest preserve trails. “When people picture the forest preserve nearest them, most people think of it being the picnic groves,” he said. “They don’t know how big this thing is. It’s just incredible.”

In yet another sign that Chicago is bouncing back to life, the city’s premiere fountain will be switched on for summer after being sidelined in 2020.

While expectant parents Monty and Rose do the heavy lifting of incubating their clutch of eggs, the rest of us can help prep for the little ones by submitting suggestions for names.

Reserve Management Group, the parent company of the now-defunct General Iron, says it has “fully complied — and then some — with every city requirement” and is asking the courts to step in and do what the city won’t: issue a final permit.

Millions of specimens collected by the Field, not for exhibits but for scientific study, are unlocking mysteries of evolution and could answer questions about climate change.

Normally, nearly 11 inches of rain falls on Chicago in the spring. This year, the city has only measured 2.32 inches and is on track to set a record for the driest spring ever.

The beloved pair of piping plovers have established a nest, smack in the middle of habitat only just protected for the birds this spring. 

The Lawrence and Berwyn stations will fully close Sunday while track is rebuilt and new stations are constructed on a 6-mile stretch of the CTA Red Line.