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It’s Monday. Start your week with these stories from WTTW News. |
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Adrienne White-Faines appears on "Chicago Tonight" on Oct. 9, 2025. (WTTW News) |
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Illinois health care providers are bracing for more patients after Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin paused abortions last week. Local organizations like Planned Parenthood of Illinois have said they anticipate an uptick in out-of-state patients and are preparing to meet the increased demand.
“This week alone, we’ve seen a doubling of the abortion cases that we usually receive from Wisconsin,” Planned Parenthood of Illinois CEO Adrienne White-Faines said.
White-Faines said the organization has been helping Wisconsin abortion patients with travel and food expenses as they head to Illinois to seek care.
This isn’t the first time Illinois has had to step up to fill the gap in abortion care. White-Faines said there’s been a higher demand for abortions in the state since the 2022 Dobbs U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade abortion protections.
“Health care, overall, was already in a state of change,” White-Faines said. “As we move into 2025, under the new administration, many of the challenges in health care were exacerbated by changes in coverage, payment, eligibility, as well as research and levels of information.”
More context:
Planned Parenthood of Illinois is taking on more patients after a period of uncertainty in leadership. The nonprofit went without a permanent CEO for seven months and appointed White-Faines as president and CEO in July. Its previous CEO, Jennifer Welch, left the job in January.
The change also comes as local clinics face potential Medicaid cuts from President Donald Trump’s spending bill. The provision bans Medicaid reimbursements to abortion providers — a move that’s working its way through the courts after several legal challenges.
More than 40% of Planned Parenthood of Illinois patients — nearly 30,000 people — rely on Medicaid to access services, according to the nonprofit. |
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These “warty” growths on hackberry leaves are one of nature’s many unusual phenomena: galls. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) |
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Ever seen a tree that looks like its leaves have sprouted warts or are suffering from a really bad rash? How about a goldenrod plant that looks like it’s swallowed a golf ball? Welcome to the wild, wonderful world of galls.
Galls are “plant oddities,” said Tom Tiddens, plant health care supervisor at Chicago Botanic Garden. “They’re really abnormal growths that happen on leaves, twigs or branches, but the majority of them do not cause harm to the plant that they’re on.” The plant tissue malformations come in all kinds of shapes from knobs to bumps to tubes. The culprit is usually an insect or mite that quite often is living inside the gall (but again, not hurting the plant).
Think of galls kind of like a scab — they’re the plant’s response to an injury, in this case an insect laying eggs or larva sucking on sap, generally during the rapid growth period of new leaves. As a defense mechanism, the leaf builds up tissue around the insect or mite to contain the threat. That mass is the gall, and it actually benefits the insect. Now the midge-fly-wasp-mite has a cozy little home — almost like a nursery for its young — where it’s protected and can keep on feeding until it’s mature enough to bust free and start the cycle all over again.
Because galls are almost always harmless, they’re “woefully understudied,” said Spencer Campbell, plant clinic manager at Morton Arboretum. “There’s not much research out there. But it’s one of those things where it’s a neat phenomenon if you observe it and notice it. |
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Juan Navarrete, right, is pictured with his family. (Submitted photo) |
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It’s been a little more than a week since the owner of a Northwest Side piñata store had her life turned upside down.
“I’m stuck between two worlds,” the woman said. WTTW News is not naming the woman per her request over fears she could be targeted.
On Oct. 3, around 8:30 a.m., Juan Navarrete was parked in front of the store he ran with his wife, ready to bring in a load of coconuts he had just picked up. Surveillance video shows a masked federal agent walking with Navarrete toward his truck, talking to him. The agent then takes him into custody.
Navarrete’s wife said he has no criminal history and is confused as to why they would take him. She did confirm that he does not have permanent legal status to live in the country. From what she knows, her husband was initially taken to the Broadview Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, where he shared with her that the place was overcrowded, making it difficult even to walk. He was later transported to Arizona, where he is currently being detained. |
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Back in the Day: October 13, 1983 - First Commercial Cell Call Made in Chicago |
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Sometimes this newsletter’s Back in the Day series highlights important historical events in the city’s history: fires, protests, inventions, famous birthdays and more. Other times, it’s the weird, funny and off-the-beaten-path moments in Chicago’s past. This, clearly, is an example of the latter. On this day 25 years ago, a local salsa dispute — yes, the spicy Mexican condiment — made the New York Times. Russell Moore was a local chef whose "salsa was so hot his friends said it should be a crime," so he named it Homicide Salsa. He bottled the sauce and sold it in an Englewood grocery store where the Rev. Michael Pfleger, a White Roman Catholic priest “known nationally for his crusades against alcohol billboards in black neighborhoods,” entered the store with a Fox Television news crew to demand its removal, claiming the name was offensive. The owner agreed. ''You wouldn't name a sports car the GT Molasses,'' Moore, who is Black, said. ''Nor would you name a salsa Chef Russell's Peace and Serenity Salsa. Last I checked, America was a capitalist country. You can sell stuff. If you don't like it, don't buy it.'' While the story was a flashpoint in local media, Moore refused to change the name even as the saucy spat went national. |
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Learn about sponsorship opportunities. |
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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 Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights
The Chicago City Council's Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights will hold a meeting on Wednesday at noon. Topics to be discussed include the potential investigation of alleged misconduct by Department of Homeland Security agents, support for local immigrant communities and more. Agenda can be found here.
WTTW
In honor of National Latinx HIV Awareness Day and Hispanic Heritage Month, WTTW is partnering with the Center on Halsted for this in-person Wednesday screening of "Chicago Stories: The Outrage of Danny Sotomayor." This event is free, but RSVP is required.
News Night
Join journalists Jared Holt (Open Measures), Daniel Knowles (The Economist) and Sarah Lazare (Workday Magazine) on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Bridgeport’s Tangible Books, 3326 S. Halsted Ave., for a casual but substantive discussion on the news, their careers and the issues facing Chicago. It’s a free event.
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What's your favorite fall activity in the Chicago area? Tell us what, where and why. |
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. |
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5:30 PM | 10:00 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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