Stories by Patty Wetli

Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in suburban Darien is roughly 30 miles and a world away from downtown Chicago, but this is where a section of the city’s prized lakefront once rested. 

A final vote is set for Sept. 14 on an eight-year deal that offers more than 11,000 Chicago police officers annual average raises of approximately 2.5% — while imposing new rules on officers suspected of misconduct.

Dennis Green, 38, faces attempted first-degree murder and other charges after he allegedly shot a CTA bus driver in the jaw following a physical altercation with the driver, who asked Green to exit the bus at the end of its downtown route Saturday.

A star-studded group of comedians will perform for one night only at Madison Square Garden to mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

COVID-19 booster shots may be coming for at least some Americans but already the Biden administration is being forced to scale back expectations — illustrating just how much important science still has to be worked out.

Some warm-blooded animals are experiencing shifts in their body shapes, likely as a response to the pressures of climate change, according to a new review of existing research.

Animals at Brookfield Zoo have begun receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, with Lincoln Park Zoo soon to follow, as federal and state officials approved the use of the inoculations.

What’s next for abortion in Illinois after a new Texas law takes effect. A class-action lawsuit against Chicago police. Health care workers on the current COVID-19 surge. A new study on air pollution.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced Tuesday that 19 counterfeit vaccination cards were recovered from a parcel that was en route to an Ohio address during an inspection at O’Hare Airport on Aug. 31.

Millions of jobless Americans lost their unemployment benefits on Monday, leaving only a handful of economic support programs for those who are still being hit financially by the year-and-a-half-old coronavirus pandemic.

The Chicago City Council may be forced to confront the role its decades-old tradition of giving aldermen the final say over housing developments in their wards has played in creating a hyper-segregated city rife with racism and gentrification. 

Chicago has it’s first-ever food equity policy lead. Ruby Ferguson, who is taking on that role, will help address food insecurity across the city, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic. 

A new study by local scientists sheds light on the efficacy of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as well as the importance of receiving both doses of the vaccines. We discuss the findings with Northwestern University professor and biological anthropologist Thomas McDade.

New research on COVID-19 antibodies. The city’s new leader on food equity. A behind-the-scenes look at the Pullman National Monument. And we get immersed in the paintings of Van Gogh.

A total of 58 people have been shot in the city, five fatally, since 8 p.m Friday, authorities said. Among those killed was a 4-year-old who was getting his hair cut in his own home when bullets came through the house, striking him in the head. He died at the hospital, police said.

The debate over police in schools as students return to the classroom. The remake of the ‘90s horror classic, “Candyman.” And a Bronzeville incubator helping young businesses think inside the box.

Most shipping containers are packed with consumer goods, but the brightly painted shipping containers in Boxville at the corner of 51st Street and Calumet Avenue are packed full of small businesses with big ambitions.

Slain activist Fred Hampton would have turned 73 years old last month, and though he was killed more than 50 years ago, his memory and legacy still loom large. Now Hampton’s son is seeking a landmark designation for the only surviving building with ties to Hampton’s activism.

Whether to keep cops in schools has been a controversial subject for years. With Chicago Public Schools back in session, we hear how some high schools made the choice to remove or maintain the police presence in their hallways.

President Joe Biden will visit all three 9/11 memorial sites to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and pay his respects to the nearly 3,000 people killed that day. 

Despite the FDA’s full approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, some people are still hesitant to roll up their sleeves. A local medical professional talks about the reasoning behind some of this reluctancy and how it’s being addressed.

The pandemic has shut down the Mexican Independence Day Parade for a second year, but Fiesta Boricua is going ahead with its plans. We talk with the event organizers about their decisions.

As the 2021 baseball regular season winds down, the Cubs and White Sox are headed in different directions. Chicago’s Spanish-language baseball announcers slide in to talk about the teams’ prospects in the postseason and next year.

A local doctor combats COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. We talk September baseball with the Spanish-language broadcasters for the Sox and Cubs. And teaching young people to document their communities. 

An ardent U.S. ally, Kosovo, has agreed to take in Afghanistan evacuees who fail to clear initial rounds of screening and host them for up to a year, a U.S. official said Saturday.

Power out, high voltage lines on the ground, weeks until electricity is restored in some places: The dismal state of power in Hurricane Ida’s wake is a distressingly familiar scenario for Entergy Corp., Louisiana’s largest electrical utility.