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The holidays are officially over and it's now that time of year when you have to remind yourself to write 2025 multiple times a day. Here's what we have in store for you this Thursday. |
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Illinois has seen bird deaths linked to the highly pathogenic avian influenza, particularly among waterfowl. While bird flu poses minimal immediate risk to humans, experts warn the virus’ rapid spread among birds and mammals could increase the likelihood of mutations — potentially creating a strain more transmissible to humans. The CDC has confirmed at least 66 human cases in 10 states.
We spoke with Seth Magle, director of the Urban Wildlife Institute at Lincoln Park Zoo. Here’s what he had to say:
Keep your cats inside. Cats are at high risk of catching the flu. “There’s really no risk as long as your cat’s indoors, so I think that’s the key thing we can do to prevent human outbreak.”
Bird flu implications extend beyond farms. Human, animal and environmental health are all linked. Magle pointed to the world’s last major pandemic, the COVID-19 outbreak, that originated in an animal before spreading to people.
Safeguard against exposure. Magle recommends avoiding sick or dead birds, keeping pets leashed and away from wildlife, and monitoring flu-like symptoms if exposed to birds.
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The Department of Children and Family Services office is pictured in Springfield. (Capitol News Illinois file photo)
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Illinois lawmakers could soon make it easier for children in foster care to live with their relatives or other people close to them.
Here’s the background: Child welfare experts have long touted the benefits of foster children staying with family members. Advocates say those arrangements offer children more stability, decrease the trauma they experience, improve their mental health and reduce the number of times the child is moved from home to home.
Both state and federal law often made those placements impractical. To get paid to support the children, relatives had to follow the same stringent rules that apply to other foster parents. They go through a rigid home inspection with bedroom size requirements, as well as restrictions on the number of people and gender of individuals who can sleep in the same bedroom. In 2023, though, the federal government decided to allow states to use separate standards for relatives of children in foster care than for other foster parents,
Illinois lawmakers are moving forward with a plan to do just that, along with making other changes that will encourage the placement of children with relatives.
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Steve Albini performs. (Credit: Freekorpos / Wikimedia Commons)
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As a recording engineer, the late Steve Albini recorded Nirvana, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, among countless others. As a musician, he made his mark with the bands Big Black and Shellac. WTTW News’ Marc Vitali sat down with the prolific music maker in 2001; tapes of that interview were recently rediscovered. In Part 2 of our interview, Albini talks about Cheap Trick and people who are offended by art.
On his early influences: "Punk rock was easily the most important thing that ever happened to me. I know for certain that I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing if not for punk rock."
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On This Day: January 2, 1900 - Chicago River Reversed |
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In the mid to late 1800s, Chicago's massive growth came with polluted waterways, no real sewage system and waterborne diseases were killing thousands of people. Slime would ooze through the cracks in sidewalks and minnows would allegedly emerge from household faucets. How can you become the city of the future with poor drinking water? As WTTW points out, "At the heart of the problem was the Chicago River itself, which carried waste toward the city, not away from it. So city officials came up with a bold plan: what if Chicago reversed its river?" On this day 125 years ago, the city did just that. While plans to reverse the river started in 1887, on Jan. 2, 1900, through engineering ingenuity and hard work, the flow was officially reversed. To read more about how they did it and how it affected the city, explore How Chicago Reversed Its River: An Animated History and A Remarkable Feat of Engineering: When Chicago Reversed Its River.
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Arts and Culture Events From Marc Vitali |
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Each Thursday, WTTW News arts correspondent Marc Vitali highlights the city’s can’t-miss cultural events.
If you’ve made it to 2025, make a resolution to take a leap and dive deep into the cultural pool of Chicago. Here are a few ideas to start the year with a splash.
38th Annual Young Playwrights Festival – Chicago Dramatists
Pegasus Theatre presents the oldest such festival in the U.S. Three plays by students from Lane Tech and Whitney Young explore superheroes, gyros and a family fishing trip. Begins Jan. 5.
“Resilience: A Sensei Sense of Legacy” – Illinois Holocaust Museum
This new exhibition offers perspective on the human impact of the Japanese American incarceration camps during World War II. Eight artists use their creative visions as vehicles for transformation and change. Through June 1.
Hitt Records – Black Ensemble Theater
A new musical revue set in a vintage record shop, in which two old school music fans enlighten their customers on the relevance of Curtis Mayfield, Sister Sledge, and more. Performed with a live band. Through Jan. 26.
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What’s one Chicago thing you’d like to accomplish or explore in 2025?
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
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5:30 PM | 10:00 PM |
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Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more. |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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