Stories by Patty Wetli

Chicago’s birders are celebrating the arrival of Imani at Montrose Beach. The piping plover is a 2021 chick of Monty and Rose.

A block party, poetry festival and spring art shows usher in the weekend. Here are five things to do in and around Chicago.

A small number of people had to leave their homes in Wisconsin as the river kept rising. Others stacked sandbags in the small community of Buffalo, Iowa, in anticipation of flooding this weekend and early next week.

The backlog stems from a change made two months after President Joe Biden took office, when Border Patrol agents began now-defunct practice of quickly releasing immigrants on parole. 

Anne Caprara, Pritzker’s chief of staff and former campaign manager, who hired Quentin Fulks as her 2018 deputy, described him as a “soft-spoken” but skilled operative who understands Democrats’ uneasy coalitions

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx says she’s not running for reelection. The search for the next police chief. Some Medicaid patients could be losing their coverage. And bringing the formerly incarcerated home.

Emergency measures designed to ensure people didn’t lose their health care during the COVID-19 pandemic are now being phased out. People must once again prove their eligibility for the government=-backed insurance program.

Backing from the rank and file. Removing racist officers. Protecting marginalized communities. Those are just some of the priorities Chicagoans said they have for the next police superintendent during a virtual forum held Tuesday.

“I had a mission and agenda that I knew I wanted to achieve, which was fairness, justice and equity. I feel that I have done that,” Foxx said.

A coalition of attorneys general said the Federal Trade Commission needs to strengthen the process for “ensuring consumers are protected from companies providing overinflated or even false claims about their products’ environmental benefits.”

The employees were charged with accepting bribes in exchange for reducing assessed values on properties owned by Chicago-area fence installation company.

The announcement, in a three-minute video, comes on the four-year anniversary of when Biden declared for the White House in 2019, promising to heal the “soul of the nation” amid the turbulent presidency of Donald Trump — a goal that has remained elusive.

Prosecutors in the so-called ComEd Four trial say the defendants are liars and bribers. Defense attorneys say their clients are talented at their jobs, and merely were caught in a government witch hunt aimed at Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Despite more people receiving organs, it’s still not enough to meet high demand. Recently, the U.S. government announced a plan to revamp the way organ recipients are chosen and organs distributed. 

On Monday, community leaders weighed in on expectations they have of Johnson’s administration regarding crucial issues that impact Chicago’s Black and Latino communities, and the city as a whole, as part of the latest edition of our WTTW News “Voices” community conversation series.

Carmen Rossi, who also owns several Chicago nightclubs and holds the liquor license for the Lollapalooza music festival, lobbied the city on behalf of his firm, Chicago Parking Solutions, LLC, even though Rossi was not registered to lobby for the firm, according to a settlement agreement.

After weeks of testimony, the so-called ComEd Four trial is in its final stages. A donor to Mayor Lightfoot faces ethics issues. Changes to child labor laws. And getting new organs to those who need them. 

Supporters of the bill — mainly Republicans — said it would give children valuable opportunities to work and get paid, whereas opponents — largely Democrats — said it would harm children.

Robert Sylvester Kelly was transferred from the Metropolitan Correctional Center Chicago to the federal correctional institution in Butner, North Carolina, on April 19, Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Benjamin O’Cone said Monday via email.

Higher education in crisis after four minority-serving Illinois universities face faculty strikes. The influence of the American Library Association. And housing residents returning from prison.

Researchers studied 1,200 elementary and middle school CPS students over the last four years and found that Latino students are up to twice as likely to be at risk for depression and anxiety.

What Latino leadership might look like under the next Chicago mayor. A new study on Latino youth and mental health. And the chef at the Purple Pig restaurant dishes on pork. 

A wave of labor actions swept through Illinois public universities this month, with faculty at Chicago State, Eastern Illinois and Governors State universities on strike at various times throughout April.

The grant from the Mellon Foundation will allow CPL to digitize and archive materials related to the city’s Black history, including items dating from the 1800s to the present day.

Tracie Hall, the first Black woman to lead the Chicago-based American Library Association, has been named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023.

The West Side nonprofit offers workforce development and mental health and substance abuse services, among other supports. Leadership said their recidivism rates are a fraction of the state average.