A black-crowned night heron snags a fish on River Park’s new riverbed habitat, where Chicago’s last waterfall once flowed. (Evan Garcia / WTTW News)

On Chicago’s Northwest Side, a gently sloping riverbed occupies the former site of a small but historically important dam. We visit a popular fishing spot – for humans and birds alike – at River Park.

Florida alligator expert Frank Robb holds an alligator during a news conference, Tuesday, July 16, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Amr Alfiky)

Most of the costs arose from city workers putting up and removing barricades to keep people away from the lagoon in Humboldt Park after the male reptile was first spotted there last month.

Florida alligator expert Frank Robb holds an alligator during a news conference, Tuesday, July 16, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Amr Alfiky)

The 4-foot, 18-pound American alligator will stay alone for 90 days to make sure he is illness-free, and then join other gators, says St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park Director John Brueggen.

Attendees of the Go Grind youth skate camp practice tricks on the grass of Piotrowski Skate Park in Chicago. (Evan Garcia / WTTW News)

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.

The Humboldt Park alligator was caught early Tuesday, July 16, 2019. (Courtesy of Chicago Animal Care and Control)

The alligator had a good run as day after day the people hunting for him in a Chicago lagoon came up empty, but in the end he was no match for an expert the city shipped in from Florida.

An alligator floats in the Humboldt Park Lagoon on Tuesday, July 9, 2019, in Chicago. Officials couldn’t say how the creature got there, but traps are being placed around the lagoon in hopes the animal will swim into one and be safely removed. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune via AP)

Half of Humboldt Park closes as search enters second week

Sections of Humboldt Park are closed Monday while the search continues for the elusive gator, which is at least 4 feet long. 

Efforts to capture an alligator in the Humboldt Park Lagoon continued for the fourth day on Friday. (Alex Ruppenthal / WTTW News)

Dozens of people lined a wall overlooking the Humboldt Park Lagoon on Friday waiting for a glimpse of an elusive alligator that continues to evade authorities’ efforts to capture it.

(Zsolt Palatinus / Pexels)

As the search for the Humboldt Park Lagoon alligator continues, learn more about these fear-inducing creatures – and why they shouldn’t be brought home as a pet.

An alligator floats in the Humboldt Park Lagoon on Tuesday, July 9, 2019, in Chicago. Officials couldn’t say how the creature got there, but traps are being placed around the lagoon in hopes the animal will swim into one and be safely removed. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune via AP)

Chicago police investigators have cracked the case: A 4- to 5-foot alligator is living in a lagoon at one of the city’s most popular parks.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma plants a magnolia tree in Chicago’s Unity Park on June 21, 2019. (Evan Garcia / WTTW)

The Grammy-winning cellist stops in Chicago as part of his Bach Project, an ambitious tour of 36 cities across six continents to explore the common language of culture. See photos from the event.

Summer Fitness Supported by LifeStart (Credit: James Richards IV Photography)

Ditch the gym and take your fitness routine outside this summer with free classes at Millennium Park, Navy Pier and Gallagher Way. With morning and evening classes, there are plenty of opportunities to get in shape.

(fensterbme / Flickr)

Why should summer get all the love? We explore the wonderland of winter adventure to be had in Chicago – both indoors and out.

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How an urban garden is contributing to research on women’s health. We stop by the Dorothy Bradley Atkins Medicinal Garden at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

(Courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

An effort that began two decades ago to restore the banks of the North Branch of the Chicago River in Horner Park is finally complete.

(Pxhere.com)

Chicago purports to be a dog-friendly city, but when it comes to dog parks, there is a huge discrepancy between the city’s North and South sides. What one dog-lover is doing to change that.

The Dorothy Bradley Atkins Medicinal Plant Garden (Kristen Thometz / Chicago Tonight)
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More than 200 medicinal plants grow in a garden on the city’s Near West Side, including species that have led to the development of treatments for cancer and congestive heart failure.