|
|
|
|
Jeanne Gang, at a preview of “Flyway City,” describes an animation that shows the massive number of birds that migrate along the Mississippi Flyway. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
|
Chicago’s Jeanne Gang is arguably one of the best-known architects working today. She’s spending whatever social capital comes with that reputation to argue for better building design — not just for humans but for wildlife, particularly birds.
A passionate birder herself — the kind who takes binoculars with her when she goes jogging on the lakefront — Gang has made bird-friendly design central to her practice, from the highly lauded Aqua Tower that soars above Lakeshore East to her company’s studio in the West Town neighborhood.
It’s past time for others to do the same, she said, and that includes Chicago officials who have yet to pass a bird-friendly building design ordinance.
“I see this as a sustainability issue. Loss of biodiversity is one of the most important parts of what’s happening with climate change, and we really don’t need to be killing birds with our buildings. It’s not necessary and it’s so avoidable,” Gang said at a preview of the new exhibit, “Flyway City,” opening Thursday at the Chicago
Architecture Center and co-curated by her firm, Studio Gang.
More context:
Visitors enter “Flyway City” via a gallery housing a companion exhibit, “Chicago’s Living Habitat,” which was co-curated by the conservation organization Openlands and spotlights the region’s wealth of natural areas that surround the great metropolis.
“We do think it’s important for people to understand this city and these buildings didn’t just rise out of nowhere. They exist in an ecosystem,” said Eve Fineman, senior director of exhibitions at the Chicago Architecture Center.
The exhibit pulls zero punches in pointing a finger at the cause of so much carnage.
“Glass is the No. 1 problem with architecture,” Gang said, due to its transparency and reflectivity, both of which play tricks with birds’ vision.
“It’s a design issue … and a materials issue and a technical issue,” she said. “How do you make glass that birds can see and people can still see out of?”
“Flyway City” answers that question with real-world examples of buildings that have incorporated bird-safe elements. It’s this emphasis on solutions that forms the backbone of the exhibit.
“Flyway City” is open through the end of 2026.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
(Drone footage courtesy of Foremedia Productions LLC)
|
The Chicago Bears will build their next stadium in Hammond, Indiana — maybe.
The team made the announcement Friday after years of negotiations with Illinois state lawmakers over a deal to build a stadium in either Arlington Heights or on the Chicago lakefront.
In the meantime, Indiana lawmakers quickly approved the incentives Bears leadership had long sought from Illinois. But some Illinois leaders insist the effort to keep the team in the state is not over.
In a statement released Friday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he will continue speaking with Bears leaders until there are “shovels in the ground in Hammond.”
Illinois state Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) told Capitol News Illinois that Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren is still open to negotiations with Illinois.
Marc Ganis, president and co-founder of sports business consulting firm SportsCorp, said the Bears are 80% of the way toward being fully committed to Hammond.
“If you want to think of it in a continuum, think of it as, say, 80% of the way there,” Ganis said. “And every month that goes by, every week that goes by, that probability increases. We’ve seen no activity by the political leadership of Illinois to actually come together on a single plan that they will commit to and present to the Bears. So seems in many ways Illinois leadership has given up.”
In February, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed a bill that created a northwest Indiana stadium authority. Under the bill, the authority can purchase a site and rent the property to the Bears for a minimum of 35 years. The Bears would not pay any property taxes on the stadium and would have the option to purchase the property for $1 after 35 years.
Ganis said the window is still open for Illinois, but that a new Chicago stadium will not happen.
“The Bears have said unequivocally that the only two sites they’re looking at are Hammond and Arlington Heights,” Ganis said. “Somebody passes a rumor that the Bears talked to a lawyer for the city and talked about coming back to the city, and then that took off as reality. I don’t believe that actually happened.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King testifies before the House Committee on Education and Workforce on June 10, 2026. (WTTW News)
|
Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King defended the school district in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday amid congressional criticism of its support for trans students, the Black Student Success Plan and “ideological agendas.”
King testified Wednesday at a hearing titled “Breaking Trust: Attacks on Parental Rights, Inappropriate Content, and Legal Abuses in America’s Schools.” She was joined by school leaders from Loudoun County Public Schools and San Francisco Unified School District, as well as an official from the National Center for Youth Law.
U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Michigan), who chairs the House Committee on Education and Workforce, subpoenaed King last month after she refused previous requests to testify on three federal bills — the PROTECT Kids Act, the “Say No to Indoctrination” Act and the “Stop the Sexualization of Children” Act.
Walberg opened Wednesday’s hearing saying school districts across the country “seem to be losing sight of their core mission” of educating students.
Walberg blasted CPS for teaching a “radical, unscientific” vision of gender to its students, and while he was born in Chicago and attended school in Cook County, he said “thankfully” he did not attend the “Chicago Public School system of today.”
King defended the school district in her opening statements, saying CPS works to ensure every student “feels seen, valued and supported.”
“Our classrooms are not homogenous,” she said. “They are vibrant communities where students learn alongside peers whose lived experiences may differ from their own. In CPS we say every student, every school, every community. Fulfilling that commitment requires us to recognize the diversity of experiences, needs and strengths that exist across our district.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
More From WTTW News:
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Back in the Day: June 11, 2021 - Chicago Fully Reopens, Ending COVID-19 Capacity Limits at Bars, Restaurants and Businesses
|
On this day five years ago, Gov. JB Pritzker entered the state into Phase 5 of its “Restore Illinois” pandemic response framework. The move ended all capacity restrictions on businesses, large-scale events, conventions and all venues. It removed mask requirements for vaccinated residents and fully reopened Illinois after more than a year of COVID-19 mitigations that promoted social distancing and discouraged public gatherings. "Due to the incredible progress we've made in our mission to stop the spread of COVID-19, I am thrilled to announce that we are able to safely transition into Phase 5 and become the first major city in the country to fully reopen," then Mayor Lori
Lightfoot said in a statement. "Our ongoing vaccination efforts, which prioritize equity and inclusion, have made a remarkable difference in our COVID-19 journey and have resulted in the lowest positivity rate since the beginning of the pandemic."
|
|
|
|
|
This Week’s Arts and Culture Events
|
Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events.
With the inclement weather and the fact that the World Cup is kicking off today, you might want to take a breather and hunker down indoors. You wouldn’t be at fault for wanting to spend your weekend by the TV, but what if I told you you could stay inside and still experience the city’s wealth of cultural options? These events will shield you from any storms, but they’ll also enrich your artistic life.
Literature: Meaghan Garvey’s “Midwestern Death Trip” — Quimby’s
Chicago’s Meaghan Garvey might be the most talented music journalist in the city. Her profiles on artists like Lana Del Rey and T-Pain are always riveting, evocative and appointment-reading. The same goes for her newsletter Scary Sad Cool Goodbye. Last month, she released “Midwestern Death Trip,” a road trip memoir that finds the writer
traversing dive bars, rural highways and her own histories throughout Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and elsewhere. She’s promoting the book tonight at Quimby’s Bookstore in Wicker Park. For more info, click here.
Theater: “Untitled Vampire Play” — The Joan and Paul Theatre at Lookingglass
Vampires have long been a pop culture fascination, but lately they’ve been ubiquitous. There’s the Oscar-winning film “Sinners,” the popular TV show “What We Do in the Shadows,” and in the theater world, there are recent productions of “Dracula” (starring Cynthia Erivo) and at the Lookingglass Theatre, a new play called “Untitled Vampire Project.” Written by Kevin Douglas, this Devon de Mayo-directed performance is making its world premiere in Chicago. It promises to be a "romantic-comedy-meets-horror-story" that "explores love, commitment, family…and, of course, vampires.” Buy tickets here.
Film: “Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair” — Music Box Theatre and Siskel Film Center
Whenever I’m having a rough day, for whatever reason, watching feel-good movies only makes it worse. Instead, I choose to watch some of the saddest, most upsetting films imaginable. Only then will I get over what was putting me in a bad mood. Two of the city’s best theaters, the Music Box and the Siskel Film Center, are putting on an unconventional film series this week called “Bleak Week.” As expected, the programming mines the darkest depths of humanity and tragedy for a can’t-miss slate of depressing cinema. You can find the live action selections at the Music Box (click here for screenings), while the Siskel (click here for showtimes) has a packed roundup of animated movies.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you could time-travel to any moment in Chicago's history, what would it be?
|
|
|
Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
|
|
|
|
|
|
5:30 PM | 10:00 PM
|
|
|
|
Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more.
|
Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
|
|
|
|
|
