Stories by Patty Wetli

A rare patch of 8,000-year-old remnant Illinois prairie has been granted a new three-month lease on life, as the Greater Rockford Airport Authority has again delayed demolition of the natural area, pending additional environmental review.

Field studies over the past few weeks — a collective effort known as the “Winter Grab” — were intended to boost knowledge of what happens in the five lakes when they’re covered partially or completely with ice.

“Another child has become the victim of senseless gun violence and it must stop,” the Chicago Police Department said in a tweet Wednesday.

Previewing President Biden’s State of the Union during an international crisis. Plus, the latest from Ukraine, Chicago’s history storing Nike missiles on the lakefront, celebrating paczki day and more.

Russian forces stepped up their attacks on crowded urban areas Tuesday, bombarding the central square in Ukraine’s second-biggest city and Kyiv’s main TV tower in what the country’s president called a blatant campaign of terror.

Geoffrey Baer joined “Chicago Tonight” for this week’s Ask Geoffrey, about old Nike missile bases in Chicago.

A library filled with collections of people’s stories is coming to life in a new podcast series called “Unboxing Queer History.”

Cook County is now at the lowest level of COVID-19 risk, under new guidance set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Both locally and nationally, carjackings are on the rise. In Chicago, they have tripled over the last decade, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office. Other cities including New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. have also seen similar upticks.

Dennis Haggerty, 45, of Burr Ridge, pleaded guilty before a federal judge in Chicago to one count each of wire fraud and money laundering after taking millions from an Iowa hospital in exchange for personal protective equipment he never provided.

Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced Tuesday that he would not run for mayor of Chicago in 2023, removing Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s most prominent potential challenger from the growing field of prospective candidates.

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Illinois’ top doctor and the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, will step down on March 14, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday.

Black Chicagoans were “overwhelmingly disproportionately” stopped by Chicago Police officers across the city, including in parts of the city that Chicago Police consider to be “high crime” areas, according to the report issued by interim Inspector General William Marbeck.

Aleksandra Plewa and Peter Proctor's startup, EcoShip, collects used shipping materials and redistributes them to small business owners – for free. 

From pioneer professional baseball players Roberto Clemente and the White Sox’s Minnie Miñoso to “Queen of Salsa” Celia Cruz, Afro-Latinos have made a significant impact on American history. Our latest community conversation dives into Afro-Latino history in Chicago, while touching on the nuances of multi-racial identities.

Facing disquiet at home and danger abroad, President Joe Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address at a precipitous moment for the nation, aiming to navigate the country out of a pandemic, reboot his stalled domestic agenda and confront Russia’s aggression.

There were 43 homicides in Chicago last month, bringing the 2022 total up to 92 through the end of February, according to data published Tuesday by the Chicago Police Department.

An embattled Ukraine moved to solidify its bond with the West on Monday by signing an application to join the European Union, while the first round of Ukraine-Russia talks aimed at ending the fighting concluded with no immediate agreements.

Illinois and Chicago go maskless. Plus, the latest on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and heightened nuclear tensions, inside the local effort to unionize Amazon workers, and a local study connects better sleep with weight loss.

New reports from insurance company State Farm signal just how much the pandemic has upended the auto insurance industry; the Old Post Office welcomes another tenant; and the St. Regis tower sees its highest-priced sale so far.

In Chicago, a group of workers called Amazonians United Chicagoland says it’s seen success from its organizing efforts. 

Getting a full night’s sleep could help one lose weight, according to a recent study by University of Chicago and University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.

President Joe Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court has launched what Democrats hope will be a quick, bipartisan confirmation process for the court’s first Black woman.

Under the big top, Teatro ZinZanni presents a performance that is Cirque du Soleil meets cabaret, with a little circus action in between.

As expected, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday issued a new executive order that lifts the requirement for masking in most indoor public settings, citing a “vast improvement” in COVID-related hospitalizations and transmissions. 

This past week, in a chillingly prescient way, a rescheduled visit of English National Ballet’s production of Akram Khan’s “Creature” arrived on the Harris stage, and it could not have been more ideally timed.