A rendering of a planned inclusive playground to be built at the east end of Midway Plaisance in Hyde Park. (Chicago Park District)
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Though lauded as “groundbreaking” by the Park District, the playground has met with significant opposition from neighbors, who have faulted the choice of the Plaisance's east end as too dangerous for a play space.

Demolition began Monday, March 4, 2024, on an illegal building in Humboldt Park that has been at the center of controversy since 2022, when it began rising on park grounds with no prior notice to the community. (WTTW News)

The illegal building, intended as an archive for the neighboring landmarked National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, has been at the center of controversy since 2022.

A memorial for Monty and Rose, held in 2022, at the site now named in their honor. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

The Park District Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday to rename the plovers’ Montrose Beach meeting spot the Monty and Rose Wildlife Habitat.

Soldier Field. (WTTW News)

Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks will headline a double-bill at Soldier Field on June 21, officials said Thursday morning.

(Gary Spears / Pexels)

Live and natural holiday trees can be dropped off in a tree recycling corral at one of 27 designated locations in the city from Jan. 6-20.

The McCormick Tribune Ice Rink at Millennium Park. (Millennium Park / Facebook)

Outdoor skating rinks at five Chicago parks open Nov. 24, joining rinks at Maggie Daley Park and Millennium Park where skating is already underway.

The cinderblock shell of an illegal building in Humboldt Park, obscuring the landmarked Receptory and Stable building, will be demolished. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
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Tensions remain as the fight over the building has been seen by some as a symbol of the struggle to maintain Humboldt Park’s longstanding Puerto Rican heritage in the face of gentrification.

Neighbors, preservationists and park advocates are calling for the demolition of an unauthorized annex to the landmarked Receptory Building and Stable in Humboldt Park. The building is leased by the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, which began construction of an adjacent archive facility without permits. (Top photo: Patty Wetli / WTTW News; Bottom photo: Change.org)
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More than a year after the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture began construction on a non-permitted facility in historic Humboldt Park, a community meeting has been scheduled to discuss the project's status and explore future possibilities for the structure.

Spring Lake Forest Preserve, Cook County. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Created back in 1994, the day is meant to celebrate the connection between people and the green space in their community. 

Illinois Department of Human Services Inspector General Peter Neumer is pictured with a backdrop of Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center, where he investigated allegations of abuse and neglect. (Neumer photo provided, Choate photo by Beth Hundsdorfer)

After serving nearly four years as the watchdog for the Illinois Department of Human Services, Peter Neumer will join the Chicago Park District as inspector general. 

Edgewater residents protest outside Broadway Armory on July 27, 2023. (WTTW News)

About 50 people gathered Thursday to protest the city’s process for deciding to use a Chicago Park District facility in Edgewater to shelter asylum seekers. The city has been under a state of emergency for months as it seeks to house the 11,500 migrants who’ve been bused or flown in from Texas.

(Courtesy of Chicago Park District)

The Chicago Park District is asking the city’s youth performers to try out for its 8th annual T.I.P. (Teens in the Park) Fest, where singers, rappers, dancers and poets ages 14 to 24 can showcase their talents.

(WTTW News)

State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, says since profits from events go to the Chicago Park District’s general operations fund, the financial gains from Riot Fest don’t help his constituents directly. He has proposed a 2% community benefits tax.

(Pexels / Pixabay)

Individual pool schedules will be posted to the district’s website.

Chicago Park District pool at River Park. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

After a rough summer in 2022 when a lifeguard shortage left the Chicago Park District scrambling to open even a fraction of its pools, the district doubled down on recruitment efforts in 2023.

Ald. Monique Scott (center) celebrates the Park District board’s approval of Riot Fest. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Riot Fest received permit approval from the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners on Wednesday, over the objections of opponents who’ve campaigned for more than a year to keep the festival out of Douglass Park.