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It’s Thursday. Get a jump on your day with the latest stories from WTTW News. In today’s newsletter, we cover nature, policing, the “Broadview Six” case and more.
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A composite image of the bobolink nicknamed Black and Tan, showing its male and female sides split down the middle. (Luke Dahlberg / Citizens for Conservation)
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Back in early spring, Luke Dahlberg, conservation seed program manager with the nonprofit Citizens for Conservation, was spending his Sunday at the office.
His “office,” to be fair, is the 200-plus acre Hill ‘N Dale nature preserve near Barrington Hills, and Dahlberg wanted to take advantage of the lighting to photograph birds, specifically male bobolinks arriving on their breeding grounds after wintering in the pampas of South America.
“That's when they're just singing like crazy, they're showing themselves," Dahlberg said. “And usually the female bobolinks will come back a couple weeks afterwards.”
After snapping pictures of every bobolink in sight, Dahlberg went home and began scrolling through his camera roll. One bird stood out.
Male bobolinks, as with many bird species, have far more striking breeding plumage than their female counterparts. Dahlberg described the fellas' white back and black undersides as looking like a tuxedo worn backwards, with a blonde patch on their heads lending a Dennis Rodman-circa-mid-'90s vibe.
The bird in question didn't quite fit the profile.
“It turned its face and it was in non-breeding plumage,” Dahlberg said, which struck him as odd but he chalked it up to a strange molt pattern.
A couple weeks later, Dahlberg pointed out this same unusual bobolink to some visitors from Illinois Audubon Society and that's when he learned he had stumbled onto something extraordinary.
The bobolink was what's called a bilateral gynandromorph — half female, half male, split down the middle — as the result of a genetic anomaly.
On its right side, the bird presented as male; on its left, it sported the duller plumage of a bobolink female.
“I had a better chance of photographing a unicorn,” Dahlberg said. “It's extremely rare in nature.”
Of the approximately 11,000 species of birds on the planet, only 45 are mentioned in the scientific literature as exhibiting gynandromorphism, totaling fewer than 100 individuals.
“I’ve never seen one of these gynandromorphs in real life and so I was thrilled. I would definitely say the vast majority of birders will never see a gynandromorph in their life,” said Cameron Rutt, ornithologist and conservation ecologist at the Field Museum. “Your chances of running into one, by yourself, in the wild are vanishingly slim.”
“I think I described it as a ‘wicked cool bird,’” Rutt said, “and I stand by that description.”
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Mayor Brandon Johnson appears on “Chicago Tonight” on May 14, 2026. (WTTW News)
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Mayor Brandon Johnson this week made clear that not only is he looking for someone who respects the work of rank-and-file officers and the importance of constitutional policing to be the city’s next police superintendent, but also that he intends to be the one who makes that selection.
In a phone interview with WTTW News on Tuesday, Johnson laid out the qualities he’s looking for in Chicago’s next top cop and stressed that there’s no need to delay that selection process until after the upcoming mayoral election in February.
“I think it’s important we adhere to the law,” Johnson said. “People fought hard for this type of process. To disrupt that process, I don’t see why that would be necessary.”
Johnson’s previous superintendent pick, Larry Snelling, retired last month after three years as the city’s top cop and more than three decades with the Chicago Police Department.
The mayor’s comments come days after Anthony Driver Jr. — the former president and a current member of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA), which will conduct the search for superintendent candidates — wrote a letter urging the Chicago City Council to delay the search process.
More context:
The CCPSA currently has a deadline of Nov. 12 to complete its search and present a list of three candidates for Johnson to choose from.
While the list of candidates running for mayor next year is constantly growing, Johnson has not yet stated whether he intends to seek a second term.
On Tuesday, Johnson noted that between himself and the CCPSA, “the infrastructure is there” to move forward with the superintendent search now.
Johnson said his ideal candidate for superintendent is someone who understands and respects the work of rank-and-file officers and can continue to build on the constitutional policing requirements outlined in the federal court order requiring the CPD to stop routinely violating Black and Latino Chicagoans’ constitutional rights, known as the consent decree.
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(Department of Justice, Capitol News Illinois)
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Chicago’s top federal prosecutor acknowledged “mistakes were made” in the prosecution of the botched “Broadview Six” case, but he rejected the former defendants’ call for a special prosecutor to investigate any potential wrongdoing.
In a 52-page filing published late Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros argued there’s no need for a criminal contempt hearing or a separate investigation into his office’s handling of the politically charged case by a special prosecutor.
“There can be no doubt that mistakes were made in the prosecution of this case,” Boutros wrote in the filing, while noting that his office has worked to rectify those issues by dismissing the case and not contesting the former defendants’ efforts to recoup legal fees.
He also stated his office has enacted “substantial root-cause reforms” as part of a “remediation plan” focused on grand jury procedures and transcripts.
“Although the mistakes in this case are regrettable, this is not one of the ‘rare situations when a prima facie case of criminal contempt has been made out,’ and so this Court should reject former Defendants’ request for a hearing on these matters or to appoint another attorney to investigate alleged misconduct,” Boutros wrote.
Some backstory:
Attorneys for the former Broadview defendants have sought a special counsel to investigate, and if warranted, prosecute members of Boutros’ office for criminal contempt following bombshell allegations of grand jury misconduct.
In that motion, defense attorneys argued Boutros’ office appears to be putting all blame for those actions on one prosecutor — Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg — but the defense claims the misconduct “runs much deeper and indeed to the highest levels of the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office and likely to the Department of Justice in Washington D.C.”
A federal judge is expected to rule on the special prosecutor request later this month.
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More From WTTW News:
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Back in the Day: August 6, 2009 - Beloved Filmmaker John Hughes Dies
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Though John Hughes grew up in Michigan, his family moved to north suburban Northbrook when he was 13 years old. When he attended Glenbrook North High School, his coming-of-age would inspire some of his most famous films: “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Ferris Bueller's Day Off” and more. He continued to document his adopted city with other lighthearted comedies like “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,” “Home Alone” and “Uncle Buck,” not to mention in screenplays like “Pretty in Pink.” On this day 17 years ago, after a storied and beloved film career as a director and writer, Hughes died of a heart attack at 59.
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This Week’s Arts and Culture Events
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Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events.
This summer is flying by. The city’s been so alive with events and activities that it’s shocking we’re already in August. Before you start prematurely mourning the end of the warm weather and sunshine, you should keep your momentum going strong. Enriching your life with the arts is not a seasonal endeavor, but a lifelong source of inspiration, imagination and creativity. Below, we’ve compiled a small sample of how you can experience culture in Chicago.
Theater: “Iceboy!” — Goodman Theatre
Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally are a married couple who have both been beloved sitcom stars and comedic powerhouses. Offerman’s best known for his roles in “Parks & Recreation” and “Margo's Got Money Troubles,” while Mullally broke out with a star turn in “Will & Grace” and more recent appearances in “The Righteous Gemstones.” Together, they star in the musical “Iceboy!” which has been extended until Aug. 16 at the Goodman Theatre. Tickets are selling fast, but you can buy them here.
Art: John Wangendo | Stories from Africa — Evanston Art Center
The latest exhibit to hit the Evanston Art Center is a collection by the local artist John Wangendo, whose “colorful and detailed portraits … [give] viewers a glimpse into stories from the continent of Africa, from its civil wars to its deep cultures and traditions.” His work is stunning and he primarily operates in pencil and charcoal. It opens Saturday and runs until Sept. 13. The opening reception is Sunday from 1-3 p.m. For more information, click here.
Performance: Hugh Jackman — Ravinia
You might know Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, the star of countless “X Men” movies and the talented actor in “The Prestige,” “The Fountain,” “Bad Education” and the 2012 adaptation of “Les Misérables.” Films aren’t the only forte for the multi-talented Australian: He’s also a Tony Award-winning stage presence and singer who is bringing a musical show to Ravinia in Highland Park on Sunday. He’ll be backed by the Chicago Philharmonic, so expect Broadway hits and an eclectic selection of musical numbers. Buy tickets here.
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What’s your favorite bookstore in Chicago? Tell us why.
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
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