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Happy Friday. Yesterday, the Chicago-born and Dolton-raised Robert Francis Prevost was selected by the papal conclave to lead the Roman Catholic Church. We have stories on the first American Pope, a birding column from Patty Wetli and a look at a new law going into effect on Mother's Day. |
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An elusive Sora, with its tell-tale “candy corn” beak. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) |
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Patty Wetli: Saturday is World Migratory Bird Day, and this year’s theme is “Shared Spaces: creating bird-friendly cities and communities.” While advocacy organizations push for policy changes at the macro level, here are some actions people can take individually to make a difference:
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Plant native: Native plants provide food and shelter birds need. In a case of perfect timing, the Chicago Bird Alliance’s annual native plant sale — including trees, shrubs and grasses — is accepting orders through Sunday.
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Dim the lights at night: Many of Chicago’s downtown skyscrapers participate in the Lights Out program during peak migration season, but the glow from homes can disrupt birds too.
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Make windows visible: An untold number of birds die every year from window collisions. Adding window film would help birds see the glass.
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Protect insects: Insects are a vital food source for birds. Avoid using pesticides and chemicals that are contributing to the “insect apocalypse.” Provide habitat for overwintering insects by keeping a layer of leaf litter in your garden beds. I recently received an unexpected surprise when a migrating sora used the leaf litter in my yard as a rest stop. Birders on Facebook helped me ID this visitor — I knew it was unlike anything I’d ever seen, but I had no idea what it could be. I discovered this was quite a rare sighting — Soras are apparently quite secretive!
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Restrain pets: Free-roaming cats and dogs can stress birds and even kill them. Keep cats indoors and dogs on leashes. Respect “no dogs allowed” signage in natural areas.
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Reduce plastic consumption and litter: No one wants to see a bird with a plastic beer- or pop-can ring around its neck.
Fishing line is also becoming increasingly problematic in Chicago as more people take up angling. Folks at the Chicago black-crowned night heron project reported that a heron recently returned to the Lincoln Park Zoo rookery trailing such a long line, it entangled several trees and nests. Zoo staff members were able to carefully remove the line — but only because the herons nest in a public zoo with a conservation team. Other birds aren’t so lucky.
One more thing: The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is hosting a slew of programs to coincide with World Migratory Bird Day. Learn more about our feathered friends and their amazing journeys. |
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Cardinal Robert Prevost appears on the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica after being chosen the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, choosing the name of Pope Leo XIV, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo / Alessandra Tarantino) |
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Robert Prevost, a missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and took over the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, was elected the first pope from the United States in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church. Prevost, a 69-year-old member of the Augustinian religious order, took the name Leo XIV. He was raised in south suburban Dolton.
Prevost had been a leading candidate for the papacy based on his position in the Vatican but there had long been a taboo against a U.S. pope, given the country’s geopolitical power already wielded in the secular sphere. Prevost, a Chicago native, is also a Peruvian citizen and lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop.
More on Pope Leo XIV's Chicago roots:
For the Very Rev. Anthony Pizzo, a friar with the Midwest Augustinians in Chicago, the new pope is an old friend.
He last texted the fellow Augustinian after Pope Francis died.
Pizzo and Prevost have known each other since 1974 when they met at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. Pizzo describes Pope Leo XIV, who he called “Bob” at the time, as “very friendly, very open, a great companion, a good friend, a personal friend.”
Pizzo said Prevost showed up to support him during special events in his life like when he was ordained as a priest and when he held the funerals of both his parents.
Pizzo said he thinks his old friend chose the name Leo XIV because of Leo XIII’s work as the first pope to write a social encyclical about the treatment of workers.
Prevost studied theology at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago. Sr. Barbara Reid, president of the school, sees continuity between the papacy of his predecessor and the views of the new pope.
“He has very definitely honed those theological skills and pastoral skills in the same kinds of directions that Pope Francis has set,” Reid said. “I expect he’ll be very committed to continuing to form a church that works in synodality as Pope Francis has been trying to lead us to do.” |
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Manny Alvarez, son of Karina Gonzalez, hugs state Rep. Edgar Gonzalez Jr. (D-Chicago) in the Illinois House on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. Karina Gonzalez, the namesake of the legislation, was allegedly shot and killed by her husband in Chicago in 2023 after receiving an order of protection. (Andrew Adams / Capitol News Illinois) |
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On the evening of July 2, 2023, Karina Gonzalez and her daughter, Daniela Alvarez, were singing karaoke at a party near their home in Little Village. Less than 24 hours later, they were shot and killed, by Gonzalez's husband. On Feb. 10, 2025, Governor JB Pritzer officially passed House Bill 4144, better known as Karina’s Law, which requires law enforcement to remove firearms from an alleged abuser’s home within 96 hours of a court-granted order of protection.
The law gained traction after Illinois saw an increase in the rate of domestic violence homicides around the state. The Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s most recent homicide report revealed that in 2023, there were 120 domestic violence across Illinois; firearms were responsible for 68% of these deaths.
Karina’s Law takes effect this Sunday, on Mother's Day. |
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More From WTTW News |
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Hundreds of rare, extraordinary and often erotic artworks fill a new exhibition, and many have never been seen in the United States. “The First Homosexuals” is a greatly expanded version of a 2022 show that now takes up all three floors of the Lincoln Park exhibition space Wrightwood 659.
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Back in the Day: May 9, 1960 - FDA Approves the World’s First Commercially Produced Birth-Control Pill, Made by Chicago’s G.D. Searle & Co. |
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On this day 65 years ago, the Food and Drug Administration approved the world’s first commercially produced birth-control pill. It was called Enovid-10 and it was made by Chicago’s G.D. Searle Company. Initially, the company was skeptical about bringing a birth control product to market. Several states had already severely restricted the sale and advertising of any contraceptive products and they feared boycotts from American Catholics, then 25% of the American population. As a PBS piece points out, it wasn't until they released the drug in 1957 as a treatment for gynecological disorders that Searle had a change of heart about oral contraceptives. Following the FDA approval, 40% of young married women were on the pill by 1965. In 1964 alone, Searle earned $24 million in net profits from selling the drug. It’d be the pharmaceutical company’s best-selling product for years to come. |
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Nature Calls: This Week’s Outdoorsy Events and Activities |
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Every Friday, WTTW News science and nature reporter Patty Wetli highlights the best ways to get outside.
It’s Mother’s Day weekend and you know what you could do for Mother Nature? Pick up after yourself. On that note: The annual Chicago River Day cleanup is happening Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon. Friends of the Chicago River expects more than 2,000 people to turn out at 92 locations throughout the Chicago-Calumet River system, and a number of those sites are still in need of volunteers.
Here’s what else is happening this weekend:
Join Joe Guzman, the “Chicago Astronomer,” at a pair of public stargazing opportunities. Meet him Friday, 7:30-9:30 p.m., at the 606 Bloomingdale Trail, 1805 N. Ridgeway Ave.; or Saturday, 7:30-9:30 p.m., at Westlawn Park, 4233 W. 65th St. Check Facebook for cancellations.
Check out Kite Fest at Hansen Woods near Schaumburg, 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday. There will be crafts and activities for the whole family.
The Chicago Park District is optimistically celebrating the “start of summer” on Saturday in Grant Park by switching on Buckingham Fountain for the season. The water works are set for noon-ish, following speeches by various officials.
Did you forget to buy your mom a bouquet for Mother’s Day? Take her to the spring flower show at the Garfield Park or Lincoln Park Conservatory. Sunday is the final day for both exhibits: “Rooted in Mystery” at Garfield Park and “Spectrum of Spring” at Lincoln Park.
Or take her on a wildflower walk, Sunday, 1:30 p.m., at River Trail Nature Center in Northbrook. |
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What's your favorite summer festival in Chicago? Tell us why. |
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. Here's what you had to say:
"The Jazz Festival over Labor Day weekend."— Anne H.
"It used to be Taste of Chicago, but that’s become so chopped up in recent years that that no longer holds. Now, I suppose, it’s Blues Fest/Gospel Fest/Jazz Fest"—Mike B. |
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5:30 PM | 7:00 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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