Stories by Patty Wetli

A coalition of 16 Chicago museums and cultural institutions has weighed in on the ongoing battle over the Obama Presidential Center, coming down firmly on the side of the center versus those who would block its construction in historic Jackson Park.

Eight people have been infected with salmonella typhimurium, with illness starting on dates ranging from June 10 to June 15, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The full-length documentary captures the story of Monty and Rose from their hatching in 2017 to their status as standard bearers for piping plover conservation efforts. 

The state’s efforts to expand the marijuana industry. Child tax credit payments arriving. A little-known Frank Lloyd Wright apartment building. And Ravenswood is tonight’s In Your Neighborhood stop.

Eight miles north from the Loop, manufacturing buildings, Victorian homes and small businesses line Ravenswood’s streets. The community is neighbored by North Center and Lincoln Square, and there’s much disagreement over where the three neighborhoods’ borders end and begin.

Today we know Frank Lloyd Wright as one of the most influential American architects, but early in his career he designed projects you might have trouble recognizing as his — even if you lived in the building.

Chicago generates more than 4 million tons of material waste annually. A new, highly anticipated report recommends a number of strategies aimed at keeping more of that trash out of landfills.

The Biden administration is beginning to distribute expanded child tax credit payments, giving parents on average $423 this month, with payments continuing through the end of the year.

Three lotteries have been set where successful applicants will win coveted licenses to collectively open another 185 cannabis dispensaries throughout Illinois.

The Chicago region is warming faster than the globe, says the newly sworn-in administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. How a new plan aims to take on the root cause of climate change: greenhouse gas emissions.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly cannot solicit campaign funds for candidates running in state contests as the head of the Democratic Party of Illinois, the Federal Election Commission ruled Thursday. Instead, the party can create a separate committee to seek campaign cash.

Aldermen should have input on who gets hired as their ward superintendents — but cannot have the final say, Inspector General Joseph Ferguson determined.

The Chicago Park District officially broke ground Thursday on the agency’s new $65 million, 58,000-square-foot headquarters in the Brighton Park neighborhood. “This is the wealth-building we talk about,” community leaders said.

“To any who have been hesitating about being vaccinated, please I implore you to hesitate no longer. We’re very concerned about the spread of this so-called delta variant,” said Dr. Kiran Joshi of the Cook County Department of Public Health. “Please go out, get vaccinated.”

According to a 41-page complaint filed Thursday, the Chicago Police Department has refused to share information about its social media monitoring task force, including the reason for its expansion, which accounts are tracked and what is done with that information.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot acknowledged that the rise in shootings and murders concentrated on Chicago’s South and West sides has forced her to reset her agenda as mayor. “We have experienced too much bloodshed in this city,” she said Thursday.

Working to reverse a notion that Chicago and Illinois have become false confession capitals in the U.S., Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation Thursday that prohibits the use of deceptive tactics by law enforcement officers when interrogating juveniles.

Overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government reported Wednesday. That estimate far eclipses the high of about 72,000 drug overdose deaths reached the previous year and amounts to a 29% increase.

The child tax credit had always been an empty gesture to millions of parents. That changes Thursday when the first payment of $1,000 hits bank accounts — and dollars start flowing to the pockets of more than 35 million families around the country. 

Jussie Smollett returned to court Wednesday for the first time in a year for a five-hour hearing to determine whether one of the actor’s attorneys should be allowed to keep representing him in his case against accusations that he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker heads to D.C. to talk infrastructure at the White House. The nationwide battle over voting rights. The debate over police in schools. And the return of theater critic Hedy Weiss.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker was among a handful of governors and mayors who scored an invitation Wednesday to the White House. His visit comes as the primary for the 2022 governor’s race is less than a year away. 

President Joe Biden made a quick foray to the Capitol on Wednesday hunting support for his multitrillion-dollar agenda of infrastructure, health care and other programs. Our Spotlight Politics team weighs in on this and more.

From Grant Park to Ravinia, music and dance are returning in a big way this summer. Theater critic Hedy Weiss is returning, too, to talk about some recent live shows.

Wednesday marks the deadline for about 50 local school councils with Chicago Public Schools to decide whether they want to keep their school resource officers — Chicago police officers assigned to work on school campuses.

Black and brown communities have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 — in both their physical and mental health. We take a look at the stigmas surrounding mental health in the Latino community, and what some people are doing to break those generational barriers.