Happy Friday. On Monday, Feb. 3, at 5:30 p.m. WTTW and community nonprofit My Block, My Hood, My City are presenting "The State of Our City: A WTTW News Town Hall." A live studio audience will have the chance to ask questions of Mayor Brandon Johnson and other community stakeholders. Attend in person or watch live on television or our website.
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Non-mallard duck on the Chicago River. (Credit: Patty Wetli)
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Patty Wetli: If you’ve ever heard the phrase “if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is duck” — the duck you’re probably picturing in your head is either a mallard or Daffy. But there are actually dozens of different species of duck, some with spectacular plumage like the harlequin duck or colorful names like the bufflehead.
This time of year, Chicago hosts a lot of these “weird ducks,” as they dip down from parts further north in search of unfrozen water. Though I wouldn’t consider myself a birder by any stretch — is there a level before beginner? I have, every winter, been more and more intrigued by reports of these oddities visiting our shores.
When I saw a report of a weird duck sighting that was within walking distance of my home office, I grabbed the new binoculars I got for Christmas and headed out the door. I honestly didn’t have much hope for success because I lack a birder’s patience, but for once, I was in luck.
There, instantly and clearly visible, paddling in the middle of the Chicago River’s North Branch, was a non-mallard duck. It was mostly white, and kept to itself, which was super helpful of it, from an observation standpoint. And there were other non-mallards in the vicinity. Maybe a greater scaup, maybe a merganser, maybe a goldeneye.
It was thrilling to finally be part of the weird duck-spotting club, even if I wasn’t 100% sure what I was looking at. No offense to the common mallard — because conservationists like to say it’s super important to keep common species common — but I was excited to see something new. And to know that this stretch of the river had become healthy enough to attract more and more species.
As I had my binoculars trained on the non-mallard, I heard a ruckus. I thought maybe a squabble had broken out between the river’s resident geese, jealous of the newcomers, but it was actually the hometown waterfowl swarming an area where people were tossing food — bread, I assume — into the water. My non-mallard ignored the humans and their crumbs, swimming off in the opposite direction.
Stay weird, friend. Stay wild.
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State Rep. Sonya Harper (D-Chicago) speaks at a news conference on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (WTTW News)
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Companies that participated in the slave trade in the 17th and 18th centuries could have to fess up and pay up if they want to do business with Illinois in the 21st century. State Rep. Sonya Harper (D-Chicago), sponsor of the Enslavement Era Disclosure and Redress Act, said it’s a way for corporations that profited on the backs of enslaved people to help repair the legacy of harm caused for generations of Black Americans.
A quote:
“Black Americans we have waited so long,” Harper said. “We have waited so long in vain for our communities to be made whole. After hundreds of years of repression and oppression on so many levels, we waited long enough. Enough is enough. Enough excuses, enough delays, enough broken promises. It’s time for us to stop talking about and start acting on the things that we need to do today.”
More context:
The measure requires companies (including preceding entities) that want to do business with the state of Illinois and participated in slaveholding or the slave trade to say so — be it whether they transported enslaved people on trains or provided loans. The measure was filed Tuesday, when Harper promoted it at a news conference in Springfield featuring national leaders in the reparations movement, including from Reparations United and the National African American Reparations Commission.
The proposal could face opposition. But the measure also quickly gained 21 sponsors. Creating and enforcing an “Illinois slavery era disclosure bill” is, by law, a specific mission for Illinois’ African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission, of which Harper is a member.
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Chun Kamei, herpetology collections manager at the Field, introduced a gathering of reporters to a specimen of the newly named Luzon king cobra. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
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This past fall, after nearly three decades of study, researchers published confirmation that what was once believed to be a single species of king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is actually four. Herpetologists at the Field Museum were thrilled to learn that their collection of 37 king cobra specimens includes at least three of the four species. And one of the museum's specimens is particularly special.
Chun Kamei, herpetology collections manager at the Field, introduced a gathering of reporters to a specimen of the newly named Luzon king cobra (Ophiophagus salvatana), found only in an isolated part of the Philippines.
“The discovery of new species in museum collections is not uncommon, but for a new species of such large and charismatic animals, it is pretty rare,” Kamei said. “This goes to show how incredibly valuable our museum, our collection is.”
The Field specimen, an 11-foot-long male, has been preserved in a nondescript metal container, covered in cheesecloth and floating in a bath of ethanol, for almost 80 years, she said, having been collected in the Philippines during an expedition led by the museum in the post-war years of 1946-47.
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Back in the Day: January 31, 2000 - Governor Ryan Suspends Death Penalty
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By the year 2000, Illinois had cleared more condemned inmates (13) since the state reinstated capital punishment in 1977 than the number of inmates they executed. On this day 25 years ago, Republican Gov. George Ryan declared a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois. “Until I can be sure that everyone sentenced to death in Illinois is truly guilty, until I can be sure with moral certainty that no innocent man or woman is facing a lethal injection, no one will meet that fate,” he said, calling
the system “so fraught with error and has come so close to the ultimate nightmare.” In 2011, Illinois finally abolished capital punishment.
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Outdoor Events and Activities From Patty Wetli
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Every Friday, WTTW News science and nature reporter Patty Wetli gives you the best ways to get outside.
We made it through January and found plenty of ways to stay connected to nature. As we kick off February, the wild world awaits, indoors and out.
Brookfield Zoo and the Oak Park Conservatory are teaming up on a family-friendly celebration of the Year of the Snake, Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon at the conservatory. Swing by for hands-on activities, crafts and a visit from the zoo’s animal ambassadors; free but registration required. The zoo itself is free on Saturdays and Sundays in February. Guests can meet some of the 40 species of snake that live at the zoo.
If weird ducks have piqued your interest in Chicago’s winter bird visitors, there’s a winter birding walk Sunday at Douglass Park, 9-10:30 a.m. The walk is free, but pre-registration is required.
Throughout February, take a self-guided Underground Railroad walk at the Sand Ridge Nature Center in South Holland. The surrounding Calumet region was home to an Underground Railroad network in the mid-1800s.
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Where's the best bagel in the Chicago area? Tell us where and why it's your favorite.
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. Here's what you had to
say:
Once Upon a Bagel operates a family-owned + operates a flagship store in Highland Park. Several satellite shops (e.g., Glencoe, Lake Forest, etc.) Great variety of tasty bagels. And lots of other items on the menu. Outstanding staff.—Michael Ebner
Jake’s Bagels and Deli at 220 North Broadway in Aurora has the BEST bagels!!!! Right across from the Metra and Two Brothers Brewery, formerly Walter Payton’s Roundhouse! The bagels are what every other bagel place wishes they had!!! — Shari J.
New York Bagel and Bialy is a traditional bagel shop. Its bagels are chewy and delicious. They are not the puffed up pretend bagels that you find at many modern shops. They are wonderful. —Maryann Collins
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5:30 PM | 7:00 PM
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
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