Stories by patty wetli

A rendering of a planned inclusive playground to be built at the east end of Midway Plaisance in Hyde Park. (Chicago Park District)

Obama Foundation Donating $4M to Build Divisive Playground at Midway Plaisance

Though lauded as “groundbreaking” by the Park District, the playground has met with significant opposition from neighbors, who have faulted the choice of the Plaisance's east end as too dangerous for a play space.

(Adler Planetarium / Facebook)

Adler Planetarium Admission Fee Increase OK’d by Park District Board

On Wednesday, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners approved an admission fee increase that will take effect April 1.

Hordes of female periodical cicadas will be laying their eggs in small tree branches. (Armed Forces Pest Management Board / Flickr Creative Commons)

The Cicadas Are Coming, Do Your Trees Need Protecting? Experts Weigh In

Young trees could be vulnerable to damage from the emergence of millions of periodical cicadas in Illinois this spring. Here are tips on how to protect your trees.

(WTTW News)

Friends of the Parks to the Chicago Bears: Play Ball With Stakeholders on New Stadium Plans

The parks advocacy group said it isn’t chasing the Bears out of Chicago, but wants an “open, clear and free discourse driven by the public instead of private interests.”

(National Park Service / Flickr Creative Commons)

The Solar Eclipse Is a Month Away, But the Time to Get Your Viewing Glasses — and Smartphone Filters — Is NOW

If you've been sleeping on the North American total solar eclipse of 2024, it's time to start paying attention. The big event — on April 8 — is fast approaching and folks who haven't prepared could find themselves left out in the dark.

(Miriam Alonso / Pexels)

It’s Time to Spring Forward, and Schedule a Nap for Sunday

Daylight saving time officially arrives at 2 a.m. Sunday.

Milkweed stems stand tall in the Field Museum's Rice Native Gardens. In the past, gardeners have been threatened with fines when native plants were mistaken for weeds. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Remember Chicago’s Native and Pollinator Garden Registry? It’s Finally Getting off the Ground

More than two years after Chicago's City Council passed an ordinance creating a Native and Pollinator Garden Registry, an advisory board has finally been appointed to oversee the operation.

The tag on a Chicago resident’s new parkway tree clearly shows the species as “Aristocrat” pear, one of some two dozen cultivars of the invasive callery pear tree. (Courtesy of Eliza Rohr)

A Chicago Resident Requested a Parkway Tree. The City Planted an Invasive Species

Just because a species is known to be invasive doesn’t mean it’s officially regulated as such. One Chicagoan learned that lesson the hard way.

Four active eagle nests being monitored this winter in the Forest Preserve District of Will County. (Forest Preserve District of Will County / Chad Merda)

Number of Active Eagle Nests Now Up to 4 in Will County

It's the first time four active nests have all been located on Will County forest preserve property.

Demolition began Monday, March 4, 2024, on an illegal building in Humboldt Park that has been at the center of controversy since 2022, when it began rising on park grounds with no prior notice to the community. (WTTW News)

Demolition Begins on Illegal Building in Humboldt Park

The illegal building, intended as an archive for the neighboring landmarked National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, has been at the center of controversy since 2022.

A non-native subspecies of common reed is an invasive bully (l), crowding out its native counterpart in wetlands. (Credits: Caleb Slemmons, National Ecological Observatory Network, Bugwood.org (l); Rob Rutledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org)

Invasive Dupes, Part 5: The Common Reed’s Identity Crisis is a Doozy

For the last in our series on invasive species that can be mistaken for natives, here’s one of the trickiest: phragmites, also known as common reed.

February 2024 was the warmest on record in Chicago. The lakefront seen from the Museum Campus, Feb. 27, 2024. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

What the Heck Happened to February in Chicago? It Was the Warmest on Record, But It Could Have Been Weirder

It’s official, Chicago: February 2024 was the warmest in 153 years of recording keeping.

Native lilliput mussels (l) and invasive zebra mussels (r). (Credits: Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Flickr Creative Commons)

Invasive Dupes, Part 4: Two Tiny Mussels, One Big Difference

In honor of National Invasive Species Awareness Week, we’re posting daily “dupes” — invasives that can easily be confused with native species. Today we’re featuring two tiny freshwater mussels that couldn’t have less in common.

File photo. (Jplenio / Pixabay)

At Least 11 Tornadoes Confirmed by National Weather Service Following Tuesday’s Severe Storms

It was a wild day that saw Chicago just miss out on setting a record-high temperature for February before a powerful cold front moved through the region. 

Native climbing rose (l) and invasive multiflora rose (r). (Credits: Peter Chen, College of DuPage, Bugwood.org (l); James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org)

Invasive Dupes, Part 3: A Rose by Another Name Is a Multiflora Disaster

In honor of National Invasive Species Awareness Week, we’re posting daily “dupes” — invasives that can easily be confused with native species. Today brings us to a truly unexpected subject: the rose.

A file photo depicts lightning across the Chicago skyline. (S_UM_A / Pixabay)

Tornado Watch Issued for Chicago Region Through Late Tuesday Night

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for the Chicago region, much of northern Illinois and parts of northeast Indiana, through 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Can you tell them apart? That’s rusty crayfish, left, and virile crayfish, right. (Credit: Flickr Creative Commons)

Invasive Dupes, Part 2: Crayfish vs. Crayfish — Seeing Double

In honor of National Invasive Species Awareness Week, we’re posting daily “dupes” — invasives that can easily be confused with native species. Today we’re tackling crayfish.

A bald eagle is pictured in a file photo. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Second Pair of Bald Eagle Mates on the Nest in Will County. How Big Will the Eaglet Boom Be?

The Forest Preserve District of Will County confirmed a second pair of eagles are incubating eggs in a newly-built, enormous nest.

(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

February Is Going Out on a Wild Note: Record-Breaking Warmth, Wildfire Warnings, Tornadoes and Maybe Snow

The forecast for last week of February has a little something for everyone. Buckle in for a wild ride.

Prairie (or field) thistle on the left, cutleaf teasel on the right. Which is native and which is invasive? (USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab; Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Invasive Dupes, Part 1: Teasel vs. Thistle, Will the Real Native Please Stand Up

In honor of National Invasive Species Awareness Week, we'll be posting daily "dupes" — invasives that can easily be confused with native species. 

Brookfield Zoo’s grey seal pup is just one week old and already a charmer. (Courtesy Brookfield Zoo)

Look at That Face: Brookfield Zoo’s Baby Seal in the Running for Cutest Newcomer

The grey seal pup was born Feb. 17. He’ll stay behind the scenes for the next month and a half while bonding with his mom.

Eaglet heads poke above the top of their nest in 2023. Fingers crossed for a repeat in 2024. (Will County Forest Preserve / Chad Merda)

Bald Eagles Confirmed Nesting in Will County. Eaglet Watch Is On

All signs are pointing to another successful year of bald eagle mating in Will County.

Sandhill cranes. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region)

Are Early Birds a Sign of Climate Change, Weird Weather, Neither, Both? It’s All of the Above, Experts Say

Red-winged blackbirds, American robins, and sandhill cranes are among the species of birds Chicagoans have spotted in recent days on the leading edge of spring migration. But wait — according to the calendar, it’s still winter.

Shedd’s newest rescued sea otter pup explores the aquarium’s otter habitat. (Brenna Hernandez / Shedd Aquarium)

Shedd’s Rescued Sea Otter Pup Makes Public Debut as He Continues to Thrive, Doubling in Size and Cuteness

The still-unnamed pup arrived at Shedd Aquarium in November 2023 and recently made his public debut after acclimating behind the scenes.