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TGIF, Chicago. Start your weekend with the latest headlines from WTTW News.
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Dr. Karisa Tang, Shedd Aquarium’s lead veterinarian, on Sept. 17, 2026, keeps a watchful eye on a group of belugas rescued from a defunct marine park in Canada. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
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The medical and animal care staff at Shedd Aquarium have been on an emotional rollercoaster the past few months.
There was elation in July when the team pulled off the successful rescue of four female beluga whales from the defunct Marineland park in Canada. Four more females from Marineland followed in mid-August and watching them join their pod-mates was a sight Dr. Karisa Tang will never forget.
“Reuniting those two groups of females that lived together in Marineland was really, really beautiful in watching how they greeted each other and rubbed on each other,” said Tang, lead veterinarian and vice president of animal health at Shedd.
But then came the lows.
Two whales in that second group — Peekachu and Rain — have since died, along with Beethoven, a longtime member of Shedd’s resident beluga pod.
Though the public is clamoring for answers, Tang said staff is still assembling the pieces of a complicated puzzle, waiting on test results and lab reports from facilities across the country.
“A post-mortem, what we call a necropsy exam, is very complex and it involves a lot of different people,” Tang said.
She will say that all of the deaths were “unexpected.”
Some backstory:
Tang and her colleagues at Shedd, along with their counterparts at the other institutions involved in the rescue of Marineland’s 30 belugas and four dolphins, were always keenly aware they were undertaking an inherently risky, high-stakes operation.
Moving 2,000-pound aquatic mammals from the only home most had ever known, placing them in shipping containers, loading them on planes and then releasing them into completely foreign surroundings was never going to be an easy transition.
But as challenging as each move was, Tang knew the whales’ arrival at Shedd was just the beginning, not the culmination of the rescue.
“I think we have months before we take a breath, to be totally honest,” Tang said. “This is going to be a long process of acclimation. We still have 24/7 monitoring. Yes, our phones are still on at all hours of the night. We’re asking, ‘What does today look like? What does tomorrow look like?’ It’s really about survival and triage, wanting these whales to thrive.”
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Sponsor Message
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On Tuesday, September 22nd, 5 pm to 8 pm, join Full Spectrum Education, Northeastern Illinois University’s Goodwin College of Education, and NEIU Libraries for the launch of “Reckoning with Redress,” a cinematic digital history project on the Japanese American Redress Movement.
The event also commemorates the 45th anniversary of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians hearings held on Northeastern Illinois University’s Main Campus. Refreshments, Taiko drumming performance, film screenings of “Enough” and “Reckonings,” and a panel discussion are scheduled.
This free event is part of the “Reckoning with Redress” exhibition, ongoing through October 31st.
RSVP at NEIU.edu/reckoning-redress.
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(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
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A second Chicago City Council panel advanced a proposal to rewrite the city’s 40-year-old renters’ rights ordinance, sending a rival proposal to the full City Council and setting up a showdown between two competing versions.
The Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards voted 12-6 Thursday to advance a revised measure that was crafted by critics of Mayor Brandon Johnson on the City Council and is supported by landlord groups and the city’s business community.
Less than 24 hours prior, the Committee on Housing and Real Estate voted 12-9 to advance Johnson’s proposal, which is designed to shift the balance of power toward renters from landlords, who have profited from the sky-high demand for apartments in Chicago, allowing them to impose new fees and steep rent increases.
That means 12 of the City Council’s 50 alderpeople have voted for the mayor’s proposal and 12 have voted for the rival proposal, an indication of how fiercely contested this issue has become.
Both the mayor and his critics acknowledge that the city is facing a severe shortage of housing for working-class Chicagoans and agree that elected officials must do more to make living in the city more affordable.
Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th Ward), the lead sponsor of the rival proposal, said the city must tackle those issues by encouraging growth, not making it harder or more expensive for landlords to operate in Chicago.
“We need more housing,” Villegas said. “That’s the root cause of housing unaffordability.”
More context:
Both proposals now head to the full City Council for a final vote on Wednesday. However, just two alderpeople can block a vote on either proposal at that meeting, according to the City Council’s rules.
Johnson said in a statement that the rival proposal “falls well short of delivering the relief working Chicagoans need” and would “leave renters without the safeguards and peace of mind they deserve.”
Michael Mini, the executive vice president of the Chicagoland Apartment Association, said the rival proposal “avoids some of the unnecessary costs and regulatory burdens” included in the mayor’s proposal.
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The writer, director, and star Cheryl Dunye of the landmark queer film “The Watermelon Woman" will receive the Chicago International Film Festival’s Career Achievement Award at a special retrospective screening on Oct. 16. (Provided)
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The full lineup of films and programming for the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival — that kicks off next month — was announced Thursday.
Highlights include the 30th anniversary of the festival’s “Black Perspectives” program; tributes, retrospectives and awards; an inaugural physical media fair; free community screenings; feature films and shorts from Chicago filmmakers; and films from more than 60 countries.
The Chicago International Film Festival takes place Oct. 14-25 across various venues, including at AMC NEWCITY 14, Music Box Theatre, Gene Siskel Film Center and UChicago’s Logan Center for the Arts.
This year’s festival includes 113 feature films and 57 shorts. View the full lineup here.
The festival opens with A24’s “Club Kid” directed by Jordan Firstman, who will receive the festival’s Breakthrough Award. The festival closes with “Behemoth!” from Oscar-nominated director Tony Gilroy and stars Pedro Pascal and Olivia Wilde.
The festival also celebrates the 30th anniversary of its “Black Perspectives” program. The writer, director, and star Cheryl Dunye of the landmark queer film “The Watermelon Woman" will receive the festival’s Career Achievement Award at a special retrospective screening on Oct. 16.
On Oct. 17-18, the festival will hold an inaugural physical media fair. In a physical media swap, guests can bring their own laserdiscs, VHS tapes, DVDs, Blu-ray and 4K movies to trade with one another.
Tickets for screenings go on sale to the general public on Sept. 24. Tickets go on sale for members Friday.
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More From WTTW News:
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Back in the Day: September 18, 1997 - Rolling Stones Play Double Door
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On this day 29 years ago, the Rolling Stones were about to embark on their “Bridges to Babylon Tour,” promoting their 21st studio album. The first two shows were next week at Soldier Field, which had a 54,000-seat concert capacity. To warm up for the gigs, they decided to play the small Wicker Park club, the Double Door. Tickets were $7 and went on sale at 9 a.m. 230 lucky fans bought tickets in line (the band distributed 170 tickets to VIPs and guest list attendees), making for a cozy 400-total crowd. They played 13 songs, including hits like “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Start Me Up” and “Brown Sugar,” and they even performed “Crazy Mama” for the first time since
1977.
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What's your favorite spot to grab coffee in the city?
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. Here's what you had to say:
“Pullman Club in Chicago, Cork and Bean in Oak Lawn and Ashbary Coffee House in Willow Springs!” — Ron R.
“My favorite place for coffee is City News Cafe in Portage Park. Long time neighborhood hang out. Cool place, large selection of magazines, books and newspapers. Live music on weekends plus monthly poetry jam and weekly Chess Club. Great pastries, homemade chocolate truffles. Outdoor tables also.” — Barry S.
“Anticonquista Cafe. It's owned by the same family who farms the beans on the Guatemala/Honduras border. Freshest, most delicious coffee beans I've ever purchased. They have a great little cafe in Pilsen.” — Daniel S.
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