The Chicago Latino Theater Alliance is bringing some sazón to Chicago’s holiday season with the free, outdoor entertainment series “Destinos al Aire, a Holiday Extravaganza!” The Latino Theater Alliance’s Christine Perez says the events are a way to bring holiday spirit to Chicago while celebrating the diversity of our Latino cultures.

Construction on the Chicago Park District’s new $65 million headquarters in Brighton Park is already $4 million over budget just months after the project broke ground, demonstrating how challenging it is to redevelop former industrial sites, officials said.

The district’s proposed $510.9 million budget for 2022 includes a property tax increase that will add $4.3 million to its bottom line. The tax will cost the average homeowner an extra $4 a year, officials said.

Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners President Avis LaVelle said Wednesday she was not forced to resign by Mayor Lori Lightfoot for her handling of complaints that girls and young women were being abused while working at Chicago’s parks.

Three of the four lifeguards accused of wrongdoing resigned as a result of the investigation, while Chicago Park District Interim Inspector General Alison Perona recommended the fourth be terminated in connection with the allegations. 

Mauricio Ramirez, 32, was ordered held on $500,000 bail Thursday after he was charged with criminal sexual assault to a victim between the ages of 13-17 and aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim under 18.

Treatment by the Chicago Park District of a grub infestation, which laid waste to a third of Welles Park’s 15 acres, will shut down the affected area to all activity for months, and spring sports are in jeopardy.

Attention chocoholics: Chicago has announced a citywide Halloween costume contest, with 10-pound bars of chocolate being dangled as the top prize.

A freak grub infestation has laid waste to roughly one-third of Welles Park’s 15 acres in Lincoln Square. The scope of the destruction — which the Chicago Park District is working to address — is so out of the ordinary, even experts say they’re stunned.

Staff who have haven’t received accommodations and still remain unvaccinated as of March 1, 2022, will be placed on a non-disciplinary no-pay status until they comply with the mandate.

A search for a new leader of the Chicago Park District to usher into “a new era of accountability in our parks system” is underway, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

Four City Council members share their thoughts on the mayor’s budget proposal, the embattled park district, and more.

Longtime Chicago Park District Superintendent Michael Kelly’s resignation Saturday amid criticism he’s mishandled a wide-ranging sexual abuse scandal could portend future changes at the city’s sister agency.

Michael Kelly, the CEO and superintendent of the Chicago Park District has resigned. Kelly tendered his resignation via email to Park District Board President Avis LaVelle, according to a news release issued by the Board of Commissioners Saturday.

Safety officials are reminding Chicagoans that even if it still feels like summer, the lakefront’s beaches are now closed for the season to swimming, with lifeguards no longer present along the shoreline. So far in 2021, 38 people have drowned in Lake Michigan.

CEO Mike Kelly’s announcement reverses the city’s longstanding argument that life rings along the waterfront would encourage people to enter the water and put themselves at risk of injury or death — and make the city liable.