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It’s Friday. End a long work week with these stories from WTTW News.
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The author’s parkway plantings. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
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Patty Wetli: I spent a lot of time this past week watching a robin attempt to build a nest in what struck me as the dumbest place possible — a weird nook in our building’s rear porch stairs.
“There are trees. In a park. Right … next … door,” I said to my husband. “I don’t get it.”
“Remember, the bird has a pea brain,” he replied.
Well then, what’s my excuse? Because I, like a lot of other Chicagoans, persist in gardening in the city’s parkways. The dumbest place possible. It’s not just that parkway “soil” — and I use the term loosely — is generally unsuitable for life. Or that at any moment, a utility company can come along and rip up the entire strip.
It’s that where some of us see “garden” others see “alley.”
Parkways are undeniably public property, subject to foot traffic, paw traffic and waste, littering, snow piles and whatever other uses people have for the space. And still we plant. My personal efforts have evolved over the years, from small circles of annuals around my condo building’s parkway trees, to increasingly larger circles of native perennials.
It’s all super haphazard because I have zero budget to work with, but I love my scrappy little patches. I get ridiculously excited every spring when my plants begin to poke their heads above ground and I spend many a peaceful summer evening watering my babies.
But in between, there’s a lot of angst attempting to protect my beauties from foot traffic, paw traffic and waste, littering, trampling from city crews hanging street cleaning “no parking” signs and whatever else gets thrown at the space.
I added a border of salvaged bricks and then some cheap little metal fencing. None of it really deters encroachment by people who don’t want to be deterred. I’ve seen gardeners in plenty of online forums plead with others to respect their parkway plants. I waded into those waters once and won’t make that mistake again. Let me just say, “I can’t move to the suburbs.” But I will concede that in this scenario, I’m the robin, and my choices appear irrational. I can’t help it. It’s just my nature.
Tell us: Do you garden in the parkway?
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Sponsor Message
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Walser House. (Paul Morgan / Landmarks Illinois)
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Chicago Vocational High School led Landmarks Illinois’ annual list of the state’s 10 most endangered historic places, released Thursday.
South Shore Cultural Center’s outdoor theater and a rare Frank Lloyd Wright house on the city’s West Side also made the statewide list of culturally and architecturally significant sites facing threats that include deferred maintenance, neglect and vacancy.
The list, which launched in 1995, “aims to enhance advocacy efforts and build support for the eventual preservation of each property,” according to Landmarks Illinois. For photos and details on each structure, read on.
Here are 2025’s 10 most endangered:
Chicago Vocational High School
Built: Between 1938 and 1941
Location: Chicago’s Avalon Park neighborhood
J.J. Walser House
Built: 1903
Location: Chicago’s Austin neighborhood
Outdoor theater at South Shore Cultural Center
Built: 1920
Location: Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood
Spivey Building
Built: 1927
Location: East St. Louis
Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church
Built: 1880
Location: Lincoln
Fordon Horse Barn
Built: Circa 1930
Location: Oak Brook
W.A. McConnell Farmstead
Built: 1837 to 1868
Location: Richmond
Judge William D. Barry House
Built: 1844
Location: St. Charles
Meramec Caverns Barns
Built: 1933 and onward
Location: Statewide
Stephens Brothers Opera House
Built: 1884
Location: Watseka
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AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps members working on trash collection in Baltimore, Maryland on Nov. 16, 2013. (Courtesy of Natasha Al-Rafie)
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AmeriCorps was directed to terminate nearly $400 million in grants, with terminations starting to go out late last week. The federal cuts are expected to shutter more than 1,000 programs and prematurely end the service of over 32,000 AmeriCorps members, according to the nonprofit America’s Service Commissions.
Several leaders of Chicago-area organizations with AmeriCorps programs told WTTW News they’ve notified a number of AmeriCorps members that their positions have been cut after receiving federal grant terminations earlier this week that were effective immediately.
Leaders are now working to assess the impact the abrupt cuts will have on services.
On Tuesday, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined a coalition of about two dozen states who filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s termination of AmeriCorps grants and the dismantling of the agency by placing the majority of its staff on leave earlier this month.
“The damage is done, the damage is critical and what they’re gonna find out is that the damages are gonna have more of a cost than their perceived savings,” said A Safe Haven Foundation President Mark Mulroe, whose organization was impacted by AmeriCorps cuts.
Five AmeriCorps VISTA members at A Safe Haven Foundation, which provides services to individuals experiencing homelessness in the Chicago area, were told Monday that there was no longer funding for their positions after the nonprofit was informed of grant terminations, according to Mulroe.
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Back in the Day: May 2, 1960 - WLS Becomes a Top 40 Rock Radio Station
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On this day, 65 years ago, WLS-AM 890 transitioned into a top-40 radio station. Launched by Sears Roebuck in 1924 under the moniker “World’s Largest Store,” WLS pioneered radio programming, broadcasting the influential country music showcase “The National Barn Dance” and farm-focused programming and reporting. By 1960, the influential station shifted to a rock ’n’ roll-focused strategy with the help of DJs Dick Biondi, Jim Dunbar, Gene Taylor, Mort Crowley, Art Roberts, Sam Holman, Clark
Weber and Bob Hale. To announce the airwaves’ change at 6 a.m. on May 2, 1960, the station took out a full page ad in the Chicago Tribune that read, “Today a brand new sound sweeps into the air – bright as the chirp of a newborn bird…fresh as the first flutter of its feathers! It’s the totally new sound you’ll hear every day on WLS!” The format lasted until 1989, when the station again shifted to talk radio.
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Nature Calls: This Week’s Outdoorsy Events and Activities |
Every Friday, WTTW News science and nature reporter Patty Wetli highlights the best ways to get outside.
Dandelions are sprouting up in Chicago’s parks, and the Chicago Park District is reminding visitors this is a good sign — it means the land is being managed without the use of pesticides. So enjoy those free bouquets.
It’s Lilac Time in Lombard’s historic Lilacia Park, an annual weeks-long celebration of lilacs (and tulips). According to the official Bloom-o-Meter, lilacs are now in full flower. The park is open daily from dawn to dusk; admission to the park is free.
Urban Rivers is celebrating spring with a day of music at its Wild Mile floating eco park on the Chicago River, 1-8:30 p.m., Saturday. Check the schedule for yoga sessions and walking tours between musical acts.
It’s opening weekend for the Beer Garden at the Independence Grove forest preserve in Libertyville. Soak up the sights, stroll the 7.5 miles of trails and enjoy a craft brew.
The Lake Renwick Heron Rookery in Plainfield is open to guests during a viewing program on Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon, no registration required. Visitors will be able to catch a glimpse of nesting herons, egrets, cormorants and possibly even bald eagles. Staff and volunteers will be on hand to answer questions. Aside from such viewing programs, the rookery is otherwise closed
during nesting season.
Head to Thatcher Woods in River Forest, noon to 3 p.m., Sunday, for a spring festival featuring nature programs and activities, including guided wildflower walks, archery, fishing and crafts for kids. Admission is free; food available for purchase.
We’ve got another meteor shower — Eta Aquariid — this one as Earth passes through debris from Halley’s comet. Peak viewing is expected during the very early morning hours of May 5-6.
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The 2025 NFL Draft ended last weekend. How are you feeling about the Chicago Bears' moves for next
season?
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. Here's what you had to
say:
“In [new coach] Ben [Johnson] We Trust“ — Jeff D.
“Pessimistic-optimist” — Andrew S.
"A couple were definitely studs, a couple were mysteries, and interestingly, the last pick in the seventh might end up being a gem! Go Bears!" — Christopher B.
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
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