This week has flown by. Take a breather with these stories from WTTW News.
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(monkeybusinessimages / iStock)
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Calls to regulate social media platforms have spread across the nation, with states implementing a patchwork of different restrictions. Now, there’s a push to address concerns in Illinois.
In February, state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-Glenview) filed HB5511, which would create the Children’s Social Media Act.
The bill would require the primary user of internet-connected devices — like computers, tablets or smartphones — to input their birthdate or age when they set up the device. Then, that device would signal to websites the age bracket of the primary user: younger than 13 years old, 13 to 15 years old, 16 to 17 years old, or older than 18.
Based on that age bracket, the bill would limit how websites can use personal information to serve content, share location data and manage online transactions.
“We believe that by targeting the most harmful features on these social media platforms, we’re striking the right balance between protecting kids’ mental health while also allowing some of the good things,” Gong-Gershowitz said.
More context:
Although the bill puts fewer restrictions on youth access than regulations passed in other states — it does not require parental consent to access social media, for example — it has still received pushback on the grounds that it restricts civil liberties.
“We think so much about the First Amendment being about ‘what I can say,’ but it’s also about the information I can get,” said Ed Yohnka, public policy director at ACLU of Illinois. “Whether or not it’s the right solution to have government decide what information is available, and to whom, is the place where we sort of depart.”
Aside from government intervention, Yohnka said broader education around social media’s harms and consumer pressure could be effective means to force social media companies to make changes to their algorithms.
Jessica Schleider, a professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University, acknowledges the harms that social media can cause youth. But she said it still has potential to be used for good.
“The architecture behind the platform — infinite scroll, these harmful algorithmic feeds — that can really undermine youth mental health,” Schleider said. “At the same time, social media platforms are often the first, and sometimes only, place that young people actually seek out mental health support and connection.”
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FBI investigators on the scene of a fatal ICE shooting in Franklin Park on Sept. 12, 2025. (WTTW News)
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Illinois State Police have launched an investigation into the fatal shooting of Silverio Villegas González, who was killed by federal immigration agents during a traffic stop in suburban Franklin Park early on in “Operation Midway Blitz.”
An ISP spokesperson confirmed an “initial investigation” is underway after the Franklin Park Police Department asked the state police’s Public Integrity Task Force to investigate Villegas González’s death.
“When complete, the case will be turned over to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s office confirmed they’ve been in contact with ISP and will play a “supportive role” in their investigation.
Some backstory:
Villegas González was killed on Sept. 12, just days after the Trump administration launched its expanded immigration enforcement efforts in Illinois through Midway Blitz.
He was stopped by ICE agents while driving in Franklin Park and allegedly attempted to flee when he was killed. Homeland Security officials claimed he intentionally struck and seriously injured an agent with his vehicle, though body camera footage from just after the shooting reportedly captured that agent saying his injuries were “nothing major.”
The investigation announcement comes days after a state commission documenting misconduct allegations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents in Illinois urged local law enforcement to investigate further.
It also comes just days before a Cook County judge is set to rule on a local coalition’s request for a special prosecutor to take over ICE investigations after O’Neill Burke has thus far declined to pursue charges against any federal agents in connection with Midway Blitz.
Judge Erica Reddick is expected to rule on the special prosecutor request next week.
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Chicago's first eaglet in more than 100 years, seen poking out of its nest on the Southeast Side. (Chicago Park District)
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Chicago's piping plovers have some competition.
For the first time in more than 100 years, a baby bald eagle has been born inside the city's limits, the Chicago Park District announced on Wednesday.
Volunteers and birders have been monitoring an eagles' nest at Park 597 since February and on April 28, a chick reared its head.
Park 597, also known as SEPA Station #1, is tucked along the Calumet River, near the Torrence Avenue bridge. It occupies roughly 10 acres of land leased by the Park District from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.
People are being asked to keep away from the nesting site to avoid disturbing the eagles. The Park District noted that drones are not permitted on parkland without a permit.
Eagles have attempted to nest and rear chicks in Chicago before, but haven't been successful. Until now.
“We’d like it to be a regular occurrence, and for that to happen, we need the public’s cooperation to see even more wildlife thrive in our urban parks," Chicago Park District General Superintendent and CEO Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said.
One way the public can celebrate this milestone: Enter the Park District's “Name the Eaglet” contest. Submissions are being accepted online through May 15. Park District Natural Resources staff members and representatives from local birding organizations will narrow down the entries to three finalists, which will be revealed May 19 and put up for a public vote.
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Back in the Day: May 7, 2016 - Hundreds Gather in Wicker Park to Mourn Prince’s Passing
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Though the pop music legend Prince was from Minnesota, his pioneering music that blended rock, funk and soul touched lives around the world. When he died on April 21, 2016, the fans around the globe went into mourning. On this day 10 years ago, his most hardcore devotees in Chicago hosted "A Night of A Thousand Princes: Purple Walk" to honor the late songwriter. Around 150 people donning purple clothes gathered by the Wicker Park fountain, walked in procession around the neighborhood and ended with a dance party outside Crocodile Lounge on Milwaukee Ave (which shuttered in 2015). "Bowie and Prince, they owned the clubs. Without them, where would we have been?" attendee Matt Churney said. "This was one I did not want to miss. He meant so much to so many people."
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This Week’s Arts and Culture Events
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Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events.
We’ve compiled a small smattering of options, from film to art and theater, to keep you busy until we finally get regular sunshine and warmth.
Film: “Steal This Story, Please!” — Music Box Theatre
For the past 30 years, journalist Amy Goodman has been the host of the popular news program “Democracy Now! The War and Peace Report.” A veteran of broadcast, radio and investigative journalism, Goodman has highlighted global conflicts, workers’ movements and uprisings with a fearlessness and moral clarity that’s been necessary and refreshing, whether it’s the 1999 WTO protests, her reporting on the Santa Cruz massacre in East Timor, Occupy Wall Street or the war in Gaza. She’s the subject of a new documentary called “Steal This Story, Please” that premieres this weekend at the Music Box. Goodman, alongside producers and directors of the doc, will be at select screenings on Friday and Saturday. Tickets can be
found here.
Art: “Xochicago: Floating Gardens of the Chicago River and México” — National Museum of Mexican Art
A new exhibit at Pilsen’s National Museum of Mexican Art “draws parallels between chinampas built by the Mexica (Aztec) and the floating gardens being installed in Chicago by Urban Rivers.” The exhibit, which was curated by the museum’s Rebecca D. Meyers and Urban Rivers, uses “historic, nostalgic, and contemporary images” to draw the connection between both Chicago and interpretations of the city and Xochimilco, an ancient settlement that is now near modern-day Mexico City. For more details on the exhibit opening Saturday, click here.
Theater: “Chicago: The Musical” — Auditorium Theatre
Since it premiered more than 50 years ago, “Chicago: The Musical” has been an enduring classic and one of Bob Fosse’s most beloved productions. Its 1996 revival is now the longest-running show currently on Broadway, and another production has hit Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre. It runs from May 5 until May 10. Tickets can be found here.
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What's your favorite Mexican restaurant in Chicago?
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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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