It’s Tuesday. Keep your week going strong with these stories from WTTW News.
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A new overlook gives visitors a panoramic view of Marian Byrnes Park’s 140 acres, a mix of woodland, wetland and slag prairie. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
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One of Chicago’s most significant natural areas is also in many ways its least natural.
There are places in Marian Byrnes Park — 140 acres of woods, wetland and prairie in the Jeffery Manor community on the Southeast Side — where shovels clank against a layer of impenetrable steel slag.
Slag, a byproduct of the steelmaking process that hardens into a rock-like form, was once dumped here by the trainload, back in the days when the area’s wetlands were considered a wasteland not worth protecting.
“We’ve tried to do some planting in the slag but we can’t dig into it,” said Lauren Umek, project manager with the Chicago Park District, who’s been leading restoration work at Marian Byrnes for more than a decade.
And yet, life finds a way.
There are species uniquely adapted to these “soil” conditions, the same plants found in remnant gravel hill prairies and dolomite prairies. And their seeds, whether blown in by the wind or deposited by birds, have taken root at Marian Byrnes.
“Those seeds come in and they do not care. They are totally happy to be growing in this sort of gravelly matrix,” Umek said, pointing to stems of echinacea, clusters of coreopsis and blazing star. “We don’t really know where they came from. But they found a way and when they’re here, they do really well.”
More context:
In ecological terms, the slag prairie that’s spontaneously formed at Marian Byrnes is what’s called a “novel ecosystem.”
“This ecosystem doesn’t exist in any textbook. This doesn’t exist in ‘regular’ nature outside of the city,” Umek explained.
The singular beauty on display at Marian Byrnes is now more accessible than ever, thanks to new amenities added by the Park District.
Visitors will find a shade pavilion and picnic tables near the entrance off East 103rd Street, and a boardwalk and overlook at the far opposite end of the park, where people can take in a panoramic view of the entire 140 acres.
Without activist Marian Byrnes, there’d be no park.
For generations, this patch of wild land — bounded by steel mills, rail lines and expressways — had been a playground for the neighborhood’s kids. The Chicago Transit Authority looked at this same land, back in the 1970s, and saw the perfect location for a bus barn. Byrnes, whose home was adjacent to “the prairie,” fought the development, launching the Committee to Protect the Prairie.
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A Chicago Police Department vehicle is parked on Clark Street near Daley Plaza on June 15, 2025. (Victor Hilitski / WTTW News)
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Chicago violence prevention advocates renewed their calls for a dedicated department aimed at stopping gun crimes, days after a drive-by shooting injured more than a dozen people on the city’s far South Side and President Donald Trump once again pushed for federal intervention.
A group of faith leaders and elected officials on Monday called for the creation of a new Department of Gun Violence Prevention, claiming the existing Office of Violence Prevention is a “ghost office” that doesn’t do enough to keep Chicagoans safe.
“It is senseless that all these other cities have this and Chicago, which has been a posterboy for violence does not have one,” the Rev. Michael Pfleger said. “It’s time. Fund peace today.”
Advocates pushing for the new department said it would serve as a unified, prevention-focused strategy that would not be subject to political leadership changes or inconsistent investments.
Instead, they said the department would be focused only on reducing gun violence, coordinating prevention efforts and supporting community-based solutions, regardless of who serves as mayor.
“This is not a race or an ethnic or a cultural issue, this is a humane issue,” Cook County Board Commissioner Kisha McCaskill said. “We deserve to live in a community, in a county, in a city and in a state that actually supports our livelihood by creating a better way of life, a better quality of live for everyone.”
Some backstory:
Those comments came after a weekend in which six people were killed and 33 more were injured in shootings across the city. That includes a drive-by shooting that left 13 injured in Princeton Park late Friday.
Trump used the weekend violence to call out Gov. JB Pritzker — a possible 2028 Democratic presidential candidate — writing in a social media post Sunday there had been “Lots of Killing going on in Chicago.”
“Why isn’t Governor Pritzker calling me for help. I could make Chicago a safe City in ONE MONTH, in ONE YEAR, it would be one of the safest!!!” Trump said in the post.
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The Cook County building is pictured in a file photo. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
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Chicago’s embattled U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros said his office is reviewing scores of grand jury cases from across the 20-year career of the prosecutor now facing misconduct allegations from the “Broadview Six” protester case.
A third criminal case connected to Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg has fallen apart after Boutros himself filed an unopposed motion Monday to dismiss charges in a separate arson case.
In that motion, Boutros said his office has undertaken a review of more than 100 grand jury cases Mecklenburg indicted dating back as far as 2007 after he discovered “serious irregularities” in Mecklenburg’s “grand jury presentations.”
That review is necessary, in part, to “to restore the judiciary’s, defense bar’s, and public’s confidence in the grand jury practices and proceedings” held within the Northern District of Illinois, Boutros said.
“The U.S. Attorney and the U.S. Attorney’s Office do not condone those irregularities in the grand jury presentations, which should not have happened under any circumstances,” Boutros wrote in the motion.
The new filing — which dismissed charges against Alla Ishkirat, Tawfik Salman, Larry Moneyham and Lonniel Nelson, Jr. — comes amid widespread calls for Boutros’ resignation following bombshell allegations of grand jury misconduct by Mecklenburg in the “Broadview Six” case.
Beyond the Broadview case, similar misconduct allegations led to the dismissal of more charges in a separate COVID-19 fraud case presented by Mecklenburg to the same grand jury.
In the latest case, Boutros said Mecklenburg again held “ex parte” conversations with grand jurors outside of the official proceedings in July 2025.
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More From WTTW News:
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Via AP: Argentina's captain Lionel Messi, who many consider the greatest player of all time, scored two more World Cup goals on Monday in his team’s 2-0 victory over Austria. That gave him a record total of 18 at the world’s biggest tournament.
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Back in the Day: June 23, 1976 - Pelé Plays to 28,000 Fans at Soldier Field
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Alongside Diego Maradona, Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Pelé is considered the greatest soccer player of all time. The Brazilian national born Edson Arantes do Nascimento was a three-time World Cup winner who scored 1,279 goals in 1,363 games across his 21-year professional career. Where he mostly played for Santos, he had a lengthy stint in the ‘70s as the face of the New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League (NASL). On this day 50 years ago, Pelé appeared in Chicago at Soldier Field in front of 28,000 fans to face the Chicago Sting. Before the game, the soccer legend appeared for a photo op with Bears legend George "Papa Bear" Halas. While the Cosmos had only lost
three games so far in that season (including their home opener to the Sting), they couldn’t hold off the Sting’s attack, which resulted in a 4-1 loss. Pelé would play Soldier Field one more time in 1977.
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This Week’s Staff Recommendations
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Every Tuesday, a WTTW News staffer highlights their favorite things in Chicago. This week, it’s newsletter producer Josh Terry on the best bars to watch soccer.
Josh Terry: The 2026 World Cup has been in full swing with this tournament being hosted in North America, including 11 cities in the United States (and several others in Canada and Mexico). The games have been electric so far, with intrigue, drama and surprising results from real underdogs (Shoutout first time competitors Cape Verde's Tubarões Azuis for tying both Spain and Uruguay). Earlier this year in Daily Chicagoan’s Tuesday Staff Recommendations section, I featured three local spots that are perfectly suited to watch soccer with a crowd (The Albion Manor, Cleo's and A.J. Hudson's). With June becoming the biggest month for soccer in this country yet, I figured I'd highlight a few more. Though every bar is a soccer
bar during the World Cup, these local watering holes will bring crowds, community and camaraderie.
The Embassy Public House
The best bar to watch the Scottish Premiership and its perennial favorites, Celtic F.C., has long been Little Italy's the Embassy Public House. Whether you support Scotland or a different country in this year's competition, you'll find yourself at home here They pour a fantastic Guinness, too. 1435 W Taylor St.
The Globe Pub
Since 2004, this North Center sports bar has been the city’s most reliable destination for soccer. A classic for a reason. 1934 W Irving Park Rd.
GO Tavern & Liquors
If you refer to it as a "slashie" or "packaged goods," the combination liquor store and dive bar has long been a Chicago staple and Logan Square's GO Tavern is one of the most inviting. They boast one of the city's finest patios but it's also a gathering hub for soccer fans, especially those who support our local MLS squad the Chicago Fire. They open at 11 every day, which means the early games will be on the TV. 3219 W Armitage Ave.
Soccer House
The former location of Twisted Spoke, a biker-themed bar and restaurant, has new owners and a total makeover as Soccer House. True to its name, the spacious setup features a bar, a cafe and a rooftop beer garden perfect for watching the latest match. 501 N Ogden Ave.
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What's the best place for deep-dish pizza? 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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