Stories by Patty Wetli

The moon will align with Mars, Saturn and Jupiter in the pre-dawn hours this week.

Sanitation crews have been seeing a surge in coronavirus-related items placed in recycling bins. They belong in the trash.

An influx of visitors has made social distancing difficult, so the preserve was padlocked over the weekend. Nearby, Rosehill Cemetery has also closed its grounds to the general public.

An active community of sewers in Chicago and across the U.S. has stepped up to the challenge of making cloth masks to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker called out the hashtag himself during Thursday’s press briefing, saying the daily #SpritzersWithPritzker tweets bring smiles to his office and staff. Meet the Forest Park woman behind it.

The Illinois Soybean Association is contributing raw materials and packaging to the Chicago Park District, which is producing 600 gallons of hand sanitizer for its staff and other essential workers.

The University of Illinois at Chicago will administer a groundbreaking agreement that encourages energy companies and transportation entities, among others, to voluntarily convert right-of-way land to pollinator-friendly habitat.

As the coronavirus continues to spread, the Chicago Transit Authority is announcing additional safety measures for its employees and riders to promote social distancing, including rear-door boarding on buses effective Thursday.

Juanita Irizarry, executive director of Friends of the Parks, is worried that if Chicagoans flocks to the city’s parks on this warm spring day, officials will crack down on access to all our green spaces.

There hasn’t been a whole lot of good news in 2020, but here’s something to get excited about: Tuesday’s supermoon will be the closest the full moon gets to Earth in 2020, meaning it will look bigger and brighter than any other full moon this year.

Black Chicagoans make up 30% of the city’s population, but 72% of its COVID-19 deaths, according to newly released data. “Those numbers take your breath away,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. “It’s unacceptable. No one should think this is OK.”

No sewing machine? No problem. The surgeon general demonstrates how to make a no-sew cloth mask.

The chorus frog has been filling forest preserves with the sound of its mating calls. Here’s why that’s such good news.

Water and sewer work across Chicago is going forward as planned. That means water shutoffs are possible, even as many city residents follow a statewide stay-at-home order.

Street sweeping season usually kicks off April 1, but with so many Chicagoans (and their cars) staying put, the city decided to improvise.

“Tiger King” has become a streaming sensation during the coronavirus pandemic, but accredited zoos and aquariums aren’t entertained by the unsavory practices on display.

Brutus and Titus, 4-year-old brothers, arrived at their new home in mid-March. Learn more about the African lions during a Facebook Live chat on Thursday.

As one person succinctly summed it up on social media: “We don’t need no April fools jokes … we living in one.”

From Green City Market’s spanking new app to McKinley Park’s Google spreadsheet, farmers market organizers are working overtime to support growers and get fresh, local food in the hands of Chicagoans.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s tough love in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic has spawned a million memes. Now the mayor gets in on the joke with her own video.

Grocery stores remain one of the few places in Chicago where large numbers of people are still able to mingle, and that — rightfully — has put both employees and customers on edge.

A number of grocers and big-box retailers have announced special shopping hours for senior citizens and others vulnerable to COVID-19 to ensure less crowded situations, as well as access to essential items.

Most trails remain open in Cook County’s forest preserves, offering people a respite from home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that could change if people congregate like they did along Chicago’s lakefront. 

The EPA is relaxing enforcement of “environmental legal obligations” during the coronavirus pandemic, and activists are seething.

Closed Loop Farms is leading a group of local food producers to deliver everything from Michelin-worthy greens to naturally fermented sodas directly to your door.

Masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and other vital supplies can be dropped off Sunday at the United Center and will be distributed to health care providers in Illinois.