Stories by Patty Wetli

Visitors to the Garfield Park Conservatory have a rare and exciting opportunity to witness a plant in its spectacular death bloom as an agave prepares to flower for its first and last time.

“We’re gonna have to see what happens with omicron, but I do not expect that we will be making plans to move entirely remotely and certainly not for extended periods, even if that were a thing,” Dr. Allison Arwady said Thursday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot did not purposefully conceal information about the handling of the February 2019 raid that left Anjanette Young handcuffed while naked and pleading for help, according to the results of a probe ordered by the mayor released Thursday.

“During my tenure as CEO, I failed at times to uphold McDonald’s values and fulfill certain of my responsibilities as a leader of the company,” Steve Easterbrook said in a prepared statement issued Thursday by McDonald’s. 

Wednesday saw record high temperatures across the region, wind gusts above 60 miles per hour and even the smell of smoke, which rode in on winds all the way from brush fires in Kansas.

The confidential settlement was announced after the sides met Wednesday with a mediator for the first time. 

Many immigrants dream of owning and operating a small business. A Chicago-based photographer has a personal understanding of immigration, and he has spent years documenting small businesses. He calls his project “Immigrant Owned,” and it’s about to be expanded in a big way.

A dramatic day at City Council. The latest from City Hall. Our Spotlight politics team breaks it all down. We’re learning more about the omicron variant. And a new effort to reduce opioid overdoses.

The city’s public health department has been distributing the tests since October to try and reduce the number of deaths due to the drug. The city has distributed somewhere between 14-1500 kits.

The Chicago City Council agreed Wednesday to pay $2.9 million to resolve the lawsuit brought by Anjanette Young after police officers handcuffed her while she was naked and ignored her pleas for help during a botched raid in February 2019.

Cabrini-Green residents were promised jobs and housing after its demolition. A new investigation from the Better Government Association reveals how those promises fell short.

The findings released Tuesday are preliminary and have not been peer-reviewed — the gold standard in scientific research — but they line up with other early data about omicron's behavior, including that it seems to be more easily transmitted.

The proposal from Glenstar at 8535 W. Higgins Road will build the 41st Ward’s first affordable housing in decades amid a cluster of hotels and office mid-rises along the Kennedy Expressway near O’Hare Airport and steps away from the CTA Blue Line.

A full-court press from the owners of the Cubs, White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks helped the measure backed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot hit the jackpot despite the opposition of Chicago billionaire and Rivers Casino Des Plaines operator Neil Bluhm.

Great Lakes governors are asking the federal government to fund costs of the Brandon Road Lock and Dam project on the Des Plaines River, designed to block the incursion of invasive carp into the lakes.

Indicted Ald. Carrie Austin (34th Ward) collapsed during Wednesday’s City Council meeting and was treated by former firefighter Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st Ward) before reviving and being taken out of the Council Chambers on a stretcher.

Chicago education officials approved a settlement Wednesday that will put an end to years of litigation with the Chicago Teachers Union over a series of layoffs that disparately impacted hundreds of Black teachers and paraprofessionals.

The White House on Wednesday insisted there is no need for a lockdown because vaccines are widely available and appear to offer protection against the worst consequences of the virus. 

Christmas tubas, seasonal concerts, a craft fair and a reimagined “A Christmas Carol” usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in Chicago.

“The trial of Mr. Smollett being complete, it is now appropriate for the seal on the (Office of Special Prosecutor’s) Summary Report to be lifted and for it to be publicly available,” Dan Webb wrote in a new motion Wednesday.

The first case of the omicron variant in suburban Cook County was reported Tuesday, according to county health officials.

Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges of violating George Floyd’s civil rights, averting a trial but likely extending the time he is already spending behind bars on a state conviction.

Capping a marathon day, the House gave final approval to the legislation early Wednesday morning on a near-party-line 221-209 vote, defusing a volatile issue until after the 2022 midterm elections. 

The near-party-line 222-208 vote is the second time the special committee has sought to punish a witness for defying a subpoena.

While its score may be classic retro, the songs are performed with great authenticity by artists who came of age decades after the baby boomers and Generation Xers who grew up with them.

Decades ago, the state of Illinois outlawed midwifery. Now the state’s in the process of changing course with a new law signed Tuesday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.