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This Friday, read up on Gov. JB Pritzker’s pointed testimony to Congress, preparations for this weekend’s protests and a reflection on local coyotes. |
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A coyote mom with pup are pictured in a file photo. (twildlife / iStock) |
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Patty Wetli: This week, I received an email from the fella who thinks he and his dog likely prompted Graceland Cemetery’s ban on dogs from the grounds, at least while adult coyotes on the premises were actively defending their newborn pups.
This reader had been walking his dog — on a leash, on a paved path — when the dog was attacked by a coyote. He was able to get his dog free, but the mama coyote continued to eye the two and eventually charged them again as they were attempting to get the heck out of the cemetery.
Gravediggers came to his aid and he and his dog eventually made their escape, but the pooch did need medical attention and received a precautionary rabies booster.
I mention all of this not to demonize the coyote (that’s not the dog owner’s intent either). Mama coyote did nothing wrong: We’re talking about a wild animal — wild regardless of the urban setting — acting on instinct to protect her babies. (It’s the same reason red-winged blackbirds dive bomb people who get too close to their nests and young. It’s a defensive maneuver.)
I mention this because I’ve seen pictures of Graceland’s adorable coyote pups. And one adorable picture on social media has a way of begetting other adorable pictures, by people who just want to get in on the next Chicago Rat Hole, and don’t necessarily have the same built-in fear of wild animals as, say, people who understand coyotes aren’t poodles.
So I thought it would be worth sharing why Graceland issued its original warning. |
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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, center, speaks, as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, left, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, right, sit nearby during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing, Thursday, June 12, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo / Julia Demaree Nikhinson) |
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Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday steadfastly defended Illinois’ handling of the migrant crisis and laws designed to protect undocumented immigrants, urging Republicans on the U.S. House Oversight Committee to help him fix the nation’s “broken immigration system.”
Pritzker appeared alongside Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul at a hearing before the committee. All three are Democrats, and Walz was the 2024 Democratic nominee for vice president.
U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky), the committee’s chair, began the hearing by decrying the death of Katie Abraham, a 20-year-old University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign student who was killed in a January car crash. Julio Cucul Bol, who authorities said entered in country with false documents, has been charged in connection with Abraham’s death.
Pritzker’s appearance is the latest flashpoint in Illinois’ ongoing battle with the GOP-controlled U.S House and the Trump administration, which is attempting to strip self-proclaimed sanctuary cities of all federal funding.
“I have seen firsthand how states have had to shoulder the consequences of a broken immigration system,” Pritzker said. “I’m proud of how we have responded by promoting public safety, treating people with dignity, supporting our economy and respecting the rule of law.”
Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, has threatened to arrest California Gov. Gavin Newsom for opposing Trump’s mass deportation efforts. Walz, Hochul and Pritzker said they understood they could be the next elected officials to face arrest by Homan.
“He can try,” Pritzker said, adding that he would rather confront those threats than watch Illinois residents have their lives upended by raids. |
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Mayor Brandon Johnson fields questions from the news media on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (WTTW News) |
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Chicago is ready for large-scale protests on Saturday against President Donald Trump and his efforts to use federal agents to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, Mayor Brandon Johnson said this week. “I am counting on all of Chicago to resist in this moment,” Johnson said. “Whatever particular vulnerable group is being targeted today, another group will be next.”
There is no need for the president to send U.S. Marines or National Guard troops to Chicago, Johnson said, blasting Trump as a “tyrant” and an “authoritarian” trampling on the U.S. Constitution and undermining American democracy. “Dissent matters in this moment,” Johnson said, adding that Trump has demonstrated “a complete disregard for our Constitution.”
Context:
The “No Kings” protests are set to take place to counter what organizers say are Trump’s plans to feed his ego on his 79th birthday and Flag Day.
Organizers are planning to gather in Daley Plaza at noon Saturday to join in on the anti-Trump movement. Dozens of other gatherings are planned across the Chicago area, from neighborhoods like South Chicago and Edgewater to suburbs like Evanston and Schaumburg.
See where “No Kings” rallies are happening in Illinois here. |
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More From WTTW News: |
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Chicago taxpayers should pay $14.75 million to a man who spent more than 29 years in prison after being convicted of a double murder he did not commit, city lawyers recommended Thursday.
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City lawyers also recommended that Chicago taxpayers should pay $2.1 million to a man who claims in a lawsuit that he was framed three times by convicted former Chicago Police Sgt. Ronald Watts and his team.
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Back in the Day: June 13, 1925 - William Dehart Hubbard, First African American Athlete to Win Olympic Medal, Sets Long Jump Record in Chicago |
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William DeHart Hubbard made history at the 1924 Paris Summer Games by becoming the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event. The Ohio-born track and field athlete attended the University of Michigan, where he was a three-time NCAA Champion in the outdoor long jump and 100-yard dash categories. On this day 100 years ago, Hubbard was part of a track event in Chicago, where he would set a world record in the long jump of 25 feet, 10 3/4 inches. It wouldn't be his last world-setting feat; a year later, he equaled the world record of 9.6 seconds for the 100-yard dash at his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. Following his athletic career, he pivoted to baseball where he founded the Negro League Baseball team the Cincinnati Tigers. When that team disbanded, he went into public service, eventually working at the Cleveland Federal Housing Authority. He died in Cleveland in 1976. |
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Nature Calls: This Week’s Outdoorsy Events and Activities |
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Every Friday, WTTW News science and nature reporter Patty Wetli highlights the best ways to get outside.
OK, now it’s starting to look and feel like summer, and you know what that means in Chicago: garden walks!
Whether you’re looking for inspiration for your own garden or just like to admire the handiwork of people with legit green thumbs, garden walks are a great way to spend time in different neighborhoods.
This weekend’s Old Town Garden Walk is a companion to the neighborhood’s annual Art Fair, Saturday and Sunday. Check out more than 50 gardens, many of them private and only open to the public during the fair.
Go wild at Chicago’s Wild Mile, the city’s floating park on the Chicago River. Guides are leading walking tours Saturday and Sunday, sharing tidbits on the project’s history, identifying plants in bloom and explaining how the Wild Mile benefits aquatic wildlife.
The Forest Preserve District of Will County is throwing a pollinator party, Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Isle a la Cache Museum in Romeoville. Learn about the critters that pollinate plants, check out the native plant sale, enjoy hands-on activities and crafts, and stroll the pollinator gardens.
Enjoy free fishing, flag football, archery, kayaking, guided hikes, yoga and more at the “Everyone Belongs in Nature Festival,” Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the William Powers State Recreation Area on Chicago's Far South Side. The event is sponsored by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves has multiple opportunities for people to get their hands dirty and participate in some habitat restoration work.
This Father’s Day, visit the city’s newest dad at Shedd Aquarium. For the first time in Shedd’s history, weedy seadragon babies have successfully hatched — after their papa carefully incubated the eggs on the underside of his tail. In a surprising development, aquarists at Shedd have just discovered a second male seadragon is expecting. Visit the Oceans gallery for a glimpse of this rare phenomenon. |
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What's your favorite animal that you can spot in the Chicago area? Tell us why. |
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. Here's what you had to say:
"Such a wide variety of birds frequenting my feeders and birdbaths: robins and sparrows, of course, but also rose-breasted grosbeak, gray catbird, blue-gray gnatcatcher, goldfinch, blue jay, and four different kinds of woodpeckers. I waste a lot of time just watching." — JoAnne K.
"I love seeing the occasional opossum in the city! They are so cute, and the only marsupial found in North America!" — Amanda O.
"Deer always make me happy!" — @doe_darling
"Peregrine falcon because it's the fastest animal in the world!" — @tugas22
"Otters - speaks to the improved health of the waterways, plus they are playful." — @ahanderson1975 |
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5:30 PM | 7:00 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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