Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff who ministered with a humble style, is dead at 88. Plus, more essential stories from WTTW News.
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A still from Filipino director Lino Brocka’s film “Bona,” released in 1980, starring Nora Aunor as Bona. A new 4K restoration of the film will make its Chicago premiere at the Gene Siskel Film Center this month. (Courtesy of Kani Releasing / Nora Aunor)
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When José Capino was a child in the Philippines in the early 1980s, he watched a movie called “Bona” for the first time on television while at his grandparents’ house on Christmas Day.
“We watched the film from beginning to end,” Capino said, laughing as he recalled the memory. “We were all in rapt attention. Considering it was Christmas Day and there’s a lot of food, everyone would refill their plate and go back to the same spot and watch this film.”
Directed by internationally acclaimed Filipino director Lino Brocka, “Bona” received a positive reception at the time of its release in 1980. The following year, the movie was also screened at the Cannes International Film Festival.
But, until recently, the whereabouts of the movie’s original film negatives were largely unknown. It wasn’t until Capino, now a professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was doing research for his book, “Martial Law Melodrama: Lino Brocka’s Cinema Politics,” that he was able to help track down the location of the widely unseen film, ultimately leading to its restoration.
“It brought tears of joy,” Capino said about rediscovering “Bona,” which was his first introduction to Brocka's films.
“Bona” made its return to the Cannes Film Festival last year with a 4K restoration screening, courtesy of Kani Releasing and Carlotta Films. Now, amid a theatrical run, the restoration will be making its Chicago premiere at the Gene Siskel Film Center tonight at 6 p.m.
More backstory:
Brocka is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated filmmakers in Philippine cinema. An outspoken critic of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Brocka did not shy away from depicting poverty, sexuality, queerness and antigovernment themes in landmark films like “Manila in the Claws of Light” (1975) and “Insiang” (1976).
The Gene Siskel Film Center was a supporter of Brocka and his films while he was still alive and showed several of Brocka’s films during a time when Brocka was going up against the Marcos regime, which ruled under martial law from 1972 to 1981.
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Skunk cabbage at McDonald Woods. The flower is enveloped by the plant's protective "hood." (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
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Like other spring ephemerals — woodland perennials that briefly burst to life and then quickly go dormant — skunk cabbage keeps a low profile, rising just inches from the ground. The native wildflower is the first to pop up in spring. In its earliest stages, skunk cabbage looks like a bulb. Or a maroon-colored hat you might see on a gnome or a Smurf. Skunk cabbage also has an unusual superpower: It can generate its own heat. If it has to melt a little snow as it punches its way topside, it can, and will. Inside the flower's hood (technically “spathe”), temperatures reach a toasty 45 degrees.
And that's what made the flowers' late arrival this year curious. Chicago didn't record much snow this past winter. Heather Decker, managing ecologist at the Chicago Botanic Garden, theorized that compared to previous years, “We had a very cold frozen winter. Maybe because of the frozen ground? But yeah, it was definitely slower (to emerge) than most years.”
The patch of skunk cabbage in McDonald Woods isn't large enough to emit the plant's namesake aroma, at least not that humans can detect. But insects have a finer-tuned sense of smell and are attracted to the whiff of what resembles rotting flesh. (Skunk cabbage belongs to the same family as the corpse flower.)
Being first among the spring ephemerals takes its toll, though. “This plant is spending a lot of energy just in flower. You’re talking two weeks on and off generating heat,” Decker said. It compensates by shooting up large leaves one- to two-feet wide once flowering has finished, growing in a cabbage-shaped rosette that gives the plant the other half of its name. “It needs those large leaves to photosynthesize and to bring all that energy stored down into those roots once again,” said Decker. By early summer, even the rosettes will have disappeared — hence the ephemeral label.
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Abortion-rights activists rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Jose Luis Magana / AP Photo, file)
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In 2024, nearly a quarter of all out-of-state abortions took place in Illinois, as the total number of abortions in the state slightly decreased compared to the previous year, according to a recent study by a pro-abortion rights research policy organization. On a national level, the study found a less than 1% increase in the number of people obtaining an abortion from 2023 to 2024, according to estimates from Guttmacher Institute, which looked at states without total abortion bans. However, the number of people in the U.S. who crossed state lines for an abortion dropped by nearly 9%.
About 35,000 out-of-state residents traveled to Illinois for an abortion last year, accounting for 39% of all abortions provided in the state, according to the study. Illinois saw a 7% decrease in the number of patients traveling from out of state for an abortion. Overall, there was an estimated total of 89,770 abortions in Illinois last year, a 1% decrease from the previous year, according to the study’s estimates.
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Back in the Day: April 21, 1855 - Lager Beer Riot
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170 years ago today, Chicago experienced its first major civil disturbance: the Lager Beer Riot. In 1855, the Kentucky-born Dr. Levi Boone was elected mayor of Chicago on the anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic platform of the Know-Nothing Party. An avowed nativist, Baptist and advocate for the Temperance movement, he viewed alcohol consumption as a scourge, especially among Chicago's immigrant communities. As mayor, he decided to enforce the city's Sunday ban on serving alcohol, raised licensing fees and
arrested hundreds of immigrant saloon keepers who remained open on Sundays (Unsurprisingly, the ones operated by native-born Americans were largely untouched). On April 21, 1855, German and Irish Catholic immigrants, who led Chicago’s rapid growth in the 1840s and 1850s, decided to protest the new restrictions and mass arrests. Nineteen arrested saloonkeepers took their case to trial, and police clashed with demonstrators outside the courthouse. The mayor raised the Clark Street Bridge to keep protestors out of downtown. Sixty people were arrested, and one was killed by police gunfire. Boone instituted martial law. As the Chicago Reader points out, "Ultimately, the uprising forced a compromise in which the City Council agreed to lower the fee for tavern licenses from $300 to $100, still
double the original price."
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This Week’s Civic Events and Meetings
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Every Monday, WTTW News highlights the best ways to get involved with local government.
City Council's Joint Committee: Environmental Protection and Energy; Health and Human Relations
At noon on Wednesday, Ald. Matt Martin (47th Ward) has called for hearings on the impact of single-use plastics. More details and the agenda can be found here.
City Club of Chicago
At noon on Wednesday, the City Club of Chicago hosts a conversation with former Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th Ward), who is now the general superintendent and CEO of the Chicago Park District. Ticket pricing and details can be found here.
WTTW:
Join WTTW | WFMT, The Auditorium, University Club of Chicago, The Executives’ Club of Chicago Club, and The Book Stall, on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Auditorium Theatre for a conversation with Melinda French Gates on her new book “The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward.” Details here.
WTTW:
Join WTTW, Doc10/Docs Across Chicago and Independent Lens for a free screening and discussion of “We Want the Funk” at the Chicago Cultural Center on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Following the film, there will be a conversation with composer, podcaster and performer Lloyd Brodnax King and vocalist Julio Davis, a member of the J. Davis Trio. Details here.
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The trees are blooming, and the city is getting green again. What's your favorite thing about
spring in Chicago?
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
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5:30 PM | 10:30 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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