Juanita Irizarry, executive director of Friends of the Parks, is worried that if Chicagoans flocks to the city’s parks on this warm spring day, officials will crack down on access to all our green spaces.

A day after Mayor Lori Lightfoot threatened to close off access to city parks if Chicagoans continued to flout social distancing rules, the city shut down the lakefront trail, beaches and adjoining parks, the Bloomingdale Trail and the Chicago Riverwalk.

Chicago’s mayor says too many people are flouting the governor’s order to stay home and maintain social distance, particularly along the lakefront and at playgrounds. “This situation is deadly serious,” she said Wednesday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the closure of the city’s public libraries and parks as of 5 p.m. Saturday.

Signs for Douglas Park on Chicago’s West Side have received an unofficial update in recent weeks: a second “s.” The change comes after years of activisim in North Lawndale to rename the park.

The east bank of the North Shore Channel has been stripped of foliage between Foster and Bryn Mawr avenues, to be replaced with native species. Neighbors say the project has laid bare “eyesores” on the opposite bank.

A grant from the state will help fund creation of the Chicago Park District’s first campground and a fully accessible 3-mile trail at Big Marsh, a natural area rising up from the waste of big steel on the city’s Southeast Side.

Trees collected through Chicago’s annual holiday tree recycling program are turned into mulch and wood chips for use at Chicago Park District locations. 

Everything is set in motion for a Chicago teachers strike, but teachers aren’t the only ones considering a walkout. The city of Chicago could be facing multiple government employee strikes – all at once.

The fate of a 6-acre nature sanctuary on the city’s South Side is at the center of a debate over Tiger Woods’ $30 million plan to transform two golf courses. And it’s health is also in question. We go for a visit.

It’s been nearly three years since pro golfer Tiger Woods announced his plan to restore and merge two historic golf courses on the South Side. We discuss the proposal and the varying reactions to it.

The Chicago Park District teams up with a local organization to offer youth skateboarding camps and clinics at skate parks across the city. We “drop in” for a look at Go Grind.

Tours like Dave Odd’s “Eat the Neighborhood” in Lincoln Park introduce Chicagoans to local plants that are edible or can be used for medicinal purposes. 

By tracking the types, frequency and intensity of frog mating calls, experts hope to gauge the success of conservation efforts in an area commonly referred to as the city’s dumping ground. 

Investigators described the Park District’s procedures for vetting volunteers as “outdated” and “under-resourced,” with a single employee responsible for managing the entire volunteer program.

Some community groups are speaking out after construction equipment was seen removing trees and digging up the field on the southern end of Jackson Park.