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It’s Tuesday. WTTW News has stories on Illinois wildlife, a new housing initiative and a longtime local progressive stalwart leaving Congress. And scroll to the bottom for some very good sandwich recommendations. |
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The white lady slipper orchid was de-listed as endangered after monitors found it was more abundant than thought. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest) |
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When it comes to endangered species, animals receive the lion’s share of attention versus plants, and more protections too.
“Plants have gotten the short end of the stick,” said Gretel Kiefer, a plant ecologist at Chicago Botanic Garden, with nearly 30% of U.S. species at risk of extinction. It’s her job to help change that, at least in Illinois.
Kiefer manages the Plants of Concern program for northeastern Illinois, a community science project designed to detect population trends among the state's rare species. In recent years, the program has expanded to biodiversity hot spots in southern Illinois and northwestern Illinois.
What is a rare plant?
It could apply to a plant listed as endangered or threatened at the federal or state level, or it could be a plant that’s regionally rare — common in one part of the state but not another. Some of these rarities, it should be noted, are holding on in remnant habitats, while other populations have been introduced as part of restoration projects. Regardless of which category a plant falls under, it’s visited annually by a monitor, who keeps tabs on where the species occur, how healthy the populations are and whether there’s been any change from one year to the next.
More about Plants of Concern:
Plants of Concern has been active in northeastern Illinois for more than 20 years. Development of the mobile app, along with the introduction of online training sessions, made it possible for the Botanic Garden to spread the program to other parts of the state.
Kiefer also submits species to the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board, either for inclusion on the endangered/threatened list or for de-listing if a plant is more plentiful than previously thought.
The ultimate goal of her work is to intervene before a population “blinks out.”
More than 250 volunteers are engaged with the Plants of Concern program. Once Kiefer has paired a monitor with a plant — a complicated process she likened to matchmaking — then, and only then, does the volunteer receive details on the plant's location. |
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The Illinois State Capitol is pictured in Springfield. (Capitol News Illinois file photo) |
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Illinois lawmakers and advocates are trying to advance a pair of bills that could alleviate the housing burden for people leaving prisons. HB3162 and SB2403, together known as “Home for Good,” would boost funding for housing dedicated to those reentering society after incarceration and those in community violence intervention programs.
Each year, 20,000 people are released from Illinois prisons. According to the Illinois Justice Project, 45% of those leaving are unemployed for at least three years. That’s in part due to what advocates call “permanent punishment,” the more than 500 employment laws, policies, sanctions and job restrictions people with records face in Illinois.
“Housing is obviously unaffordable for everyone, but it is especially the case for people who have records,” said Ahmadou Dramé, director of the Illinois Justice Project, a policy organization focusing on the criminal justice system. “Without a stable place to live, you can’t begin to triage all the other challenges that a person has to be navigating.”
More about the bills:
The bills would allocate $103 million for the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) and the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority to create grants to increase affordable housing stock, subsidize housing and connect people with wraparound supports.
The bills would also infuse cash into two existing programs from IHDA. The Reentry Rental Assistance Program, which provides rental subsidies to people with records, would receive $28.8 million. The Housing for Justice-Involved Individuals Program, which distributes grants for organizations to acquire, rehab and build transitional and permanent housing for people with records, would receive $48 million. |
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U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Aug. 12, 2024. (WTTW News) |
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Jan Schakowsky, a leading progressive voice in the U.S. House of Representatives, announced Monday she would not seek a 15th term in office, setting off a free-for-all for a coveted seat representing the sprawling congressional district that includes much of Chicago’s North Side and north suburbs.
Schakowsky’s long anticipated announcement is sure to touch off a chain reaction as ambitious politicians prepare to run to represent Illinois’s 9th Congressional District, which stretches from Chicago’s North Side through northwest Cook County to southwest Lake County and southeast McHenry County. |
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Back in the Day: May 6, 1937 - WLS Radio’s Herbert Morrison Cries ‘Oh, the Humanity!’ During the Hindenburg Disaster |
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One of the most famous broadcasts in the history of radio journalism happened on this date 88 years ago. Herb Morrison was a Pennsylvania-born journalist who was assigned by the Chicago radio station WLS, along with sound engineer Charles Nehlsen, to broadcast the landing of the German passenger airship Hindenburg at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey. As the flying structure made its final approach to the airbase, it burst into flames and crashed killing thirty-five of the ninety-seven people on board and one member of the ground crew.
Here's an excerpt of Morrison's broadcast:
“It’s fire and it crashing! . . . This is the worst of the worst catastrophes in the world! Oh, it’s crashing . . . oh, four or five hundred feet into the sky, and it’s a terrific crash, ladies and gentlemen. There’s smoke, and there’s flames, now, and the frame is crashing to the ground, not quite to the mooring mast. Oh, the humanity, and all the passengers screaming around here!
. . . I can’t talk, ladies and gentlemen. Honest, it’s just laying there, a mass of smoking wreckage, and everybody can hardly breathe and talk . . . Honest, I can hardly breathe. I’m going to step inside where I cannot see it. . . .” |
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This Week’s Staff Recommendations: Sandwiches |
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Manny's Deli (Kathleen Hinkel / WTTW) |
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Every Tuesday, WTTW News staffers highlight their favorite things about Chicago. This week, it’s newsletter producer Josh Terry on some of his favorite local sandwiches.
Josh Terry: For me, a good lunch usually means a good sandwich. Two slices of bread, meat and cheese? It’s an open canvas of endless possibilities. Chicago is home to countless local eateries mastering the form, from South Side institutions to inventive takes on the humble turkey sando, and a perfected Italian sub.
Bari Foods
This Italian deli and grocer in West Town has arguably the best Italian sub in the entire city (get it with the hot giardiniera). If you want something lighter, I’d recommend the prosciutto and mozzarella or the Caprese. You can also stock up on artisanal Italian groceries while you pick up. 1120 W. Grand Ave.
Tempesta Market
Just two blocks west of Bari is a more modern take on the Italian grocer and deli that boasts the best turkey sandwich I’ve ever had in my life. The #13 B. Franklin boasts roasted turkey, Hooks 2-year cheddar, pickled fresno peppers, pickled red onions, sports, avocado and sofrito aioli on sturdy sourdough bread. It's a symphony of texture, taste, and spice that will broaden your horizons of what a turkey sandwich can be. The whole menu is great. 1372 W. Grand Ave.
TriBecca’s Sandwich Shop
This take-out centered spot in Avondale features alums of the neighboring Honey Butter Fried Chicken who offer excellent takes on the Cubano, tuna melt, and the downstate specialty maid wrong. My favorite is the seasonal turkey sandwich, which currently features smoked Michigan turkey, ramp aioli, pickled ramps, pea shoots and white cheddar on toasted sourdough. Don’t sleep on the Tuber’s Donuts the small eatery also sells. 2949 W. Belmont Ave.
Manny’s Deli
While my neighborhood Jewish deli, Steingold’s, makes incredible breakfast and lunch sandwiches, Manny’s is a legendary spot that offers all the classic fixings. For their iconic Rueben, you can choose between corned beef, pastrami, turkey pastrami or roasted turkey. I always add a potato pancake on the side. 1141 S. Jefferson St.
Ricobene’s
Come to this south side institution hungry because their famed breaded-steak sandwich is a ton of food. Melted cheese, hearty steak and sumptuous red sauce makes for a messy but satisfying meal. 252 W. 26th St. |
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What's your favorite summer festival in Chicago? Tell us 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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