It’s Tuesday. Let’s talk city jobs, monarch butterflies and cheeseburgers.
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(WTTW News)
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Elected officials and Chicagoans concerned about the number of vacant city positions will soon have a new way of keeping track of what jobs are empty with a new database, officials announced Monday.
The new database, which will be updated on the first of every month, launched one week after WTTW News reported that approximately 250 positions charged with implementing a court order that requires the Chicago Police Department to stop routinely violating Black and Latino residents’ constitutional rights are vacant.
Budget Director Annette Guzman told WTTW News the dashboard was designed to answer questions she and her team fielded during the fraught negotiations over the city’s 2025 budget.
“We want to build trust with decision makers and the public,” Guzman said.
What the Mayor said:
“By making this workforce data public, we are holding ourselves accountable and equipping our communities with the tools to demand better from their government,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement. “This initiative reflects our commitment to a more just, responsive and people-centered city where budget decisions are driven by transparency and the needs of our residents, not bureaucracy.”
What alderpeople said:
Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th Ward) said he was pleased the mayor’s office has begun fulfilling promises made during the budget negotiations.
“It will help us ask more insightful questions and find efficiencies,” Vasquez said. “We always want to see more data.”
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Monarch butterflies roosting at their wintering site in Mexico. (Alberto Loyo / Stock)
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The monarch butterfly population has rebounded from a near record low number in 2024, according to the latest annual survey conducted by the World Wildlife Fund-Mexico.
But while the numbers for the 2024-25 hibernation season are nearly double last year’s, the tally still remains well below the target scientists have set for maintaining a sustainable monarch population.
Researchers estimate the size of the monarch population by measuring the area of forest the butterflies occupy at their winter sites in Mexico. This year, the butterflies spanned 4.42 acres, up from 2.22 acres in 2023-24. The recommended threshold for supporting a healthy monarch population is closer to 15 acres.
Why?
“Scientists attribute much of this year’s population growth to better weather conditions in 2024 — with less severe drought than in previous years — along the butterflies’ migration route from the United States and Canada to Mexico,” according to World Wildlife Fund.
There were also improved forest protections in the core zone of Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, where the species overwinters.
Despite these gains, overall habitat loss across the butterflies’ lifecycle — from breeding grounds, to its migratory route, to wintering sites — remains the biggest threat to the monarch’s survival. Severe weather, climate change and pesticide use have also contributed to the species' decline.
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A shelf in the mayor's gift room that includes a pair of Hugo Boss cuff links accepted by Mayor Brandon Johnson's office on behalf of the city of Chicago. (Heather Cherone/WTTW News)
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Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration opened a small City Hall room crammed with gifts his office accepted on behalf of the city to reporters on Monday, even as questions continued to swirl about who gave him the gifts.
WTTW News was one of several news organizations granted access to the closet-sized room on Monday, 40 days after Inspector General Deborah Witzburg reported that accepted pricey gifts of luxury handbags, designer cuff links and shoes without properly reporting them, as required by the city’s ethics ordinance.
Under new rules announced Monday, members of the public will be allowed to sign up for a 15-minute slot to inspect the gift room once every three months. Those spots will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, officials said. The first opportunity will take place in April, officials said.
After members of the public get a chance to see the gifts, the “items will be donated to local Chicago charities,” according to the statement from the mayor’s office.
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More From WTTW News
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Want to represent the 35th Ward on the Chicago City Council? Here’s how to apply.
Illinois’ statewide teacher shortage is beginning to ease off as schools are making headway in filling vacant positions, according to a pair of new surveys.
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Back in the Day: March 11, 2020 - Chicago Canceled All Three St. Patrick’s Day Parades Due to COVID-19
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On this day five years ago, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The same day President Donald Trump announced that he would suspend all travel from Europe to the U.S. for 30 days during a rare Oval Office address to the nation. In Chicago, the reality of the virus finally hit home. Mayor Lori Lightfoot canceled all three of Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day parades scheduled for that weekend, the downtown Chicago St. Patrick’s Day parade, the dyeing of the Chicago River, South Side Irish Parade and Northwest Side Irish parades, due to concerns over the novel coronavirus. “As you might imagine, this was not an easy decision and we do not take it lightly,” Lightfoot said. In Illinois, 25 people had tested positive for the virus.
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This Week’s Staff Recommendations: 5 Great North Side Burgers
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Every Tuesday, WTTW News staffers share the things they love in Chicago
Josh Terry, newsletter producer for WTTW News: In his 2008 book "Outliers," the pop science writer and journalist Malcolm Gladwell popularized the idea of the "10,000-Hour Rule," which claimed that in order to become a word-class expert at something, you need to practice for 10,000 hours. While I can't claim to have eaten 10,000 cheeseburgers, I do consider myself an expert in the Gladwellian sense here. Below, I’ve compiled five great cheeseburgers that you can find on the North Side. (Look for a South Side list in a future newsletter.)
NADC Burger (415 N Milwaukee Ave, West Town):
While this is the buzziest restaurant on this list, the hype is deserved. A collaboration between professional skateboarder and Chicago native Neen Williams and Michelin-starred chef Phillip Frankland Lee, the double patty is Texas wagyu beef with secret sauce, American cheese, onions, and the star of the show, pickled jalapeño.
Moody's Pub (5910 N Broadway, Edgewater):
I’m a proud graduate of Loyola University Chicago and my formative college years were made better thanks to the Edgewater institution Moody’s Pub. A thick beef patty with no-frills. It’s cheap and best eaten on their patio.
The Region (2057 W Roscoe St, Roscoe Village):
I used to live in Roscoe Village and when The Region opened in 2017, it was clear the mom-and-pop shop perfected the smash burger. If you like crispy edges, look no further.
Tuman's Tap and Grill (2159 W Chicago Ave, Ukrainian Village):
This is my neighborhood sports bar. While I don’t want it to become too busy on the weekends, I do think their cheeseburger is a classic. Best bar food in Chicago.
Rootstock (954 N California Ave, Humboldt Park):
This is a wine bar—not a hole in the wall dive—and the no reservations Humboldt Park mainstay has an elevated take on the humble burger. It’a a rich dry-aged Slagel Farm burger, bacon aioli, red onion, white cheddar, Werp Farm lettuces, house pickled cucumber and jalapeño. Great to split with a date.
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What is the first thing you want to do in Chicago when the weather gets warm again?
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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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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
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