Stories by Patty Wetli

All of the Chicago Park District’s 77 outdoor and indoor pools are expected to be open six days a week from June 17 through Sept. 2. Beaches are also open.

Last year the U.S. had the most heat waves — abnormally hot weather lasting more than two days — since 1936. In the South and Southwest, last year was the worst on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The show is aptly titled “The Devil is in the Detours.” Scenes cruise along with solid laughs and then take a turn no one sees coming, because it is just so nutty.

Migrants with schoolchildren losing shelter. Massive data breach at Cook County Health. And Chicago pays its largest-ever police misconduct settlement.

There is an ongoing shortage of several prescription drugs used to treat ADHD, including Adderall. The CDC urged people to avoid using medication acquired from anyone other than a licensed clinician and pharmacy.

The endangered black-crowned night herons aren’t captive, they just happened to build their nests on the grounds of Lincoln Park Zoo. Why? Because they like having bodyguards.

U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider is an organizer of a bipartisan, bicameral working group that’s exploring what happens after the war ends. According to a news release, the Gaza Working Group will “plan for the ‘day after’ in Gaza once Hamas is defeated.”

Hundreds gathered at hearings this week to voice concerns over Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration’s plans to close and rebuild Logan and Stateville correctional centers. At a Friday meeting, one state lawmaker said, “This is really a concept and not a plan … because a plan has details.”

Ed Burke’s attorneys are seeking to delay his upcoming sentencing date until sometime in mid-July after the U.S. Supreme Court has a chance to rule on an appeal filed by James Snyder, the former mayor of Portage, Indiana, who was convicted in 2021 of accepting a bribe.

The high court found 6-3 the Trump administration did not follow federal law when it reversed course and banned bump stocks after a gunman in Las Vegas attacked a country music festival with assault rifles in 2017.

Chicago’s tree canopy is in decline and ranks far below the national average, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which also indicates a disparity in trees on the city’s South and West sides. The local conservation organization Openlands has been working to reverse these trends.

Mexico elected its first-ever woman president — how some Chicagoans helped make that possible. And a new photo exhibit captures a past life in Pilsen.

Claudia Sheinbaum made history earlier this month by becoming the first woman and first Jewish person elected president in Mexico. Her net is so wide-reaching that it drove thousands of Mexican nationals living outside of their home country to stand in line for hours waiting for their opportunity to cast a vote.

Japanese photographer Akito Tsuda was a student at Columbia College when a class assignment brought him to the Pilsen neighborhood in the 1990s. Now he’s back in the city revisiting the people and places he visited all those years ago.

Terrence Shannon Jr. was accused of committing sexual assault last September while visiting Kansas. He was charged with rape or an alternative count of sexual battery, which led to him being suspended for six games; a federal judge later reinstated him, ruling that his civil rights had been violated.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a military veteran who has used the fertility treatment to have her two children, has championed the bill, called the Right to IVF Act. The bill would have also expanded access through insurance as well as for military members and veterans.

Vivaldi composed “The Four Seasons,” Holst convened “The Planets,” and now we can experience “The Elements,” a themed orchestral suite courtesy of violinist Joshua Bell and five composers. The world-renowned, Indiana-born musician returns to the Midwest to perform these works with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Chicago Public Schools on Thursday announced that preliminary state assessment figures show students in grades 3-8 achieved gains in both subjects on the spring Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) exam.

The justices ruled that abortion opponents lacked the legal right to sue over the federal Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the medication, mifepristone, and the FDA's subsequent actions to ease access to it.

DraftKings, FanDuel and other betting apps are facing a bigger tax hit in Illinois following changes to tax policy this year. New Jersey, Massachusetts and other states have also tried to raise taxes on the industry or plan to.

The Diversify Ice Fellowship and Foundation is now working to make skating more accessible and show what can be achieved through mentorship, sponsorship and fun.

Juneteenth celebrations are just around the corner, and there are plenty of ways you can celebrate the holiday in Chicago. Here’s a look at some events that are worth checking out.

The mayor reacts to one of Chicago’s largest police misconduct settlements. And one on one with Carol Moseley Braun, the first Black woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate.

Carol Moseley Braun has had a storied career spanning more than three decades and six presidents. Most notably, she shot into the cultural zeitgeist in 1993 when she became the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

A hearing officer is recommending the Illinois State Board of Elections dismiss a complaint that alleged conservative radio host and political operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated with former Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey during his 2022 campaign for governor.

The FDA and DOJ have legally barred about a half-dozen vaping companies for selling products that can appeal to youngsters, but many more manufacturers continue launching new products, primarily disposable vapes that can’t be refilled and are thrown in the trash.