This Wednesday, get over the midweek hump with these stories from WTTW News.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shu-Yueh “Winnie” Liao, Benjamin Van Doren and J'orge Garcia installing an acoustic monitoring device atop Illinois Center in downtown Chicago; April 29, 2026. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
|
Back in 2019, a research study from the Cornell Bird Lab of Ornithology famously, or infamously, ranked Chicago as the “most dangerous city for migrating birds.”
Benjamin Van Doren contributed to that scientific paper and, in a full-circle moment, is now collaborating on a project to make the Windy City safer for the estimated 150 million to 200 million birds that wing their way over the city on their journeys north and south in the spring and fall.
The first step in protecting migrating birds, Van Doren said, is understanding how they use Chicago's airspace. And that's what brought him to the rooftop of Illinois Center on a blustery day in late April.
Now an assistant professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Van Doren was joined by his grad assistant Shu-Yueh “Winnie” Liao and J'orge Garcia, executive director of Windy City Bird Lab, as the three installed an acoustic monitor more than 350 feet above street level.
The device is the latest in a network that's grown to 45 or 50 such monitors spread across the city (and a few suburbs). The setups consist of a microphone, amplifier and credit-card-sized computer designed to record the calls of birds passing overhead at night, when most of North America's migratory birds are on the move.
Because this nocturnal activity is nearly impossible to witness directly, “there's a lot we don't know about how migratory birds are navigating through a city like Chicago,” Van Doren said. “How do they contend with this urban jungle that we've created — from lights, to concrete to glass?”
“This is an opportunity to see how they engage with our sky in a way that we haven’t been able to see before,” Garcia said.
More bird news:
The wait is over for Chicago’s female piping plovers.
Three weeks after the fellas arrived at Montrose and Waukegan beaches, the ladies have landed. Monitors from Chicago Piping Plovers and Lake County Audubon have confirmed that for the third year running Sea Rocket has returned to Montrose and Blaze is back at Waukegan.
“After a long journey from their wintering grounds, seeing these birds come back to the same stretch of shoreline is a thrill,” Lake County Audubon shared on social media.
Now the question is will the gals pair up with previous mates, Imani and Pepper, respectively, or will bachelor plover Pippin — who roves between the two beaches — finally make a love connection?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sponsor Message
|
|
Experience the timeless magic of Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved musical South Pacific. Winner of 10 Tony Awards, this sweeping wartime romance is filled unforgettable songs like "Some Enchanted Evening," "Bali Ha’i," and "I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair." See it April 29 – June 14, live on stage at Paramount Theatre in downtown Aurora. Tickets start at just $31 when purchased in person. It’s the perfect night out! Get your tickets now at ParamountAurora.com.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Mayor Brandon Johnson addresses the news media on May 5, 2026. (Heather Cherone / WTTW News)
|
State lawmakers should be focused on making sure cities and towns, including Chicago, can fund essential services while making life more affordable for residents — not crafting a plan to give the Chicago Bears a property tax break on a stadium in Arlington Heights, Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday.
Johnson is scheduled to travel to Springfield on Wednesday with other members of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus to turn up the heat on lawmakers weighing Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposal to cut the share of income tax revenue the state sends to local governments.
At a City Hall news conference, Johnson appeared frustrated that much of lawmakers’ time and attention has been focused on crafting a bill designed to seal the deal for a new domed stadium for the Chicago Bears in Arlington Heights while deciding not to give voters a chance in November to impose a 3% surtax on Illinois residents earning $1 million or more per year.
That proposal would allow firms building massive developments, including the Bears, to negotiate discounted payments with local government agencies and avoid paying their full property tax bill.
While some of those payments would be used to create a relief fund for property owners struggling to pay their tax bills, most Illinois residents would see less than $1.50 in relief, according to Pritzker’s office.
“There is a mismatch here in terms of what the people of Chicago and Illinois are most concerned about and how government is responding and reacting,” Johnson said. “The type of tax structure that they would set up for large corporations and billionaires without a clear pathway to provide certainty as well as equity for everyday working people, I believe that’s a mismatch there.”
The best place for the Chicago Bears remains Soldier Field, said Johnson, who fully embraced the Bears’ 2024 vision for a reimagined Museum Campus and endorsed the team’s call for taxpayers to pick up approximately $2.4 billion of the total $4.75 billion cost of the project.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Police officers work the scene outside Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital in Lincoln Square, on Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Anthony Vazquez / Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
|
The number of shootings and homicides recorded through the first third of 2026 in Chicago continues to track above last year’s historically low pace, new Chicago Police Department data shows.
According to the CPD, there were 32 homicides in April, which marks a 39% increase over the 23 homicides recorded in the same month last year. Through the first four months of 2026, Chicago has seen 130 homicides, CPD data shows, up from the 120 recorded during the same period in 2025.
Shootings have also increased this year, with 115 recorded last month (up from 106 in April 2025) and 421 recorded thus far in 2026. That total is up 5% compared to last year.
According to the CPD, 139 people were shot in the city last month, bringing the 2026 total up to 501, an increase of 9% compared to the same time last year.
Despite the recent uptick, the 32 homicides last month were the second fewest for any April in Chicago in more than a decade, trailing only 2025’s total. Chicago last year ended with its lowest homicide total in 60 years.
Beyond the increase in shootings and homicides, police said they continue to see declines in the number of robberies (down 25% year-to-date), armed robberies (down 33%), burglaries (down 16%) and carjackings (down 15%) compared to last year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
More From WTTW News:
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Back in the Day: May 6, 1917 - White Sox Are No-Hit For Second Time in Two Days
|
On this day 109 years ago, the Chicago White Sox made history by becoming the first team to face no-hit performances from opposing pitchers on consecutive days. While it’s not a record any team aspires to, in the South Sider’s defense, a controversial call from the game’s official scorer is the reason the team holds this unfortunate record. Let us explain. The Sox were facing the St. Louis Browns on May 5, 1917, when in the first inning, Sox star Buck Weaver hit a quick groundball to Browns’ second baseman Ernie Johnson, who was unable to control the ball and throw it to first in time. The official scorer emphatically ruled it was a hit, but as the game went on and
Browns’ pitcher Ernie Koob continued to retire Sox batters, he switched his designation from hit to error. Following the game, the Tribune erroneously ran a headline titled, “Koob Tames Sox in One Hit Game, 1-0.” The following day, the Browns no-hit the Sox again but this time with less controversy. The Tribune later said pitcher Bob Groom’s performance was “free from stain or taint.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chicago-Area Live Music Recommendations for May 6-12
|
|
Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.
Thursday, May 7:
John Andrews & the Yawns, Smushie, Tobacco City at Color Club. Tickets.
Two of Chicago’s greatest bands open for the New Jersey songwriter.
Liz Cooper, V.V. Lightbody at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
An excellent night of inventive indie rock.
Friday, May 8:
Sluice, Hiding Places at Schubas. Tickets.
The conversational North Carolina folk rockers enlist the Brooklyn slowcore band with North Carolina roots as openers.
Yumi Zouma, Ducks Ltd. at Outset. Tickets.
Get there early for the energetic jangle pop of the Toronto openers.
Saturday, May 9:
Lowertown, Villagerrr at Subterranean. Tickets.
Two of the most exciting acts in indie rock join forces in Wicker Park.
The Afghan Whigs, Mercury Rev at Metro. Tickets.
Veteran rock bands known for big artistic swings share the stage in Lakeview.
Sunday, May 10:
Hannah Frances at Old Town School of Folk Music. Tickets.
This mesmerizing folk songwriter might be based in Vermont but wrote some of her breakthrough records while living in Chicago.
Monday, May 11:
Melody’s Echo Chamber, Strange Lot at Thalia Hall. Tickets.
For fans of psychedelic pop, the band Broadcast and hypnotically catchy songs.
Tuesday, May 12:
Gia Margaret, Brendan Eder Ensemble at Thalia Hall. Tickets.
This local songwriter is back to singing memorable and cozy folk-pop songs on her latest LP “Singing.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What's your favorite Mexican restaurant in Chicago?
|
|
|
Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
|
|
|
|
|
|
5:30 PM | 10:00 PM
|
|
|
|
Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more.
|
Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
|
|
|
|
|
