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Breathe easy: the heat wave is over. Today, we you bring stories on HOAs vs. native plants, Illinois Republicans and Democrats preparing for the general election and a Bally’s Casino update.
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Bee balm, rattlesnake master, horsemint and Culver’s root are among the native plants in this garden that homeowner associations in Illinois can no longer ban. (Ron Frazier / Flickr Creative Commons) |
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Native plants have been gaining in popularity as more and more gardeners have come to appreciate their ecosystem benefits, which range from supporting endangered wildlife to improving stormwater absorption.
But homeowners associations (HOAs) across the country, including many in Illinois, have adopted prohibitions against native plants, enforcing rules through fines, tickets, peer pressure and other means. Among HOAs' arguments against natives: They're too tall, too weedy, too unkempt and too attractive to rodents.
It turns out, as Patty Wetli writes, that this will no longer be the case in Illinois. The state legislature passed a new law that in effect bans the bans. HOAs can no longer bar homeowners from planting native gardens.
Here’s a quote from State Rep. Laura Faver Dias (D-62nd district), who introduced the Homeowners' Native Landscaping Act in the General Assembly.
You can look up which native plants are good for your garden at the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources here.
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Democrats watch the final night of the DNC in Chicago (Emily Soto / WTTW News) |
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Chicago is returning to normal now that the Democratic National Convention is over, but the race for the White House is just heating up. WTTW News producer Abena Bediako has a fascinating story on how Illinoisans from both parties are preparing for what might be a nailbiter general election. Both parties are making efforts to encourage voters to get to the polls.
The Chicago Urban League, a nonpartisan organization, has a 100 day plan to help drive up voter education and registration.
Republicans are mobilizing too.
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“We’re going to be doing a ballot chase program that we’re going to have here in Illinois. Our concentration is going to be on state rep races,” said Aaron Del Mar, co-chair of the Illinois Republican Party.
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Read the story  |
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Crews started demolishing the former home of the Chicago Tribune on Aug. 27, 2024. (Courtesy of Powell Creative Services) |
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More than 600 days ago, Bally’s got the green light to demolish the Chicago Tribune’s newsroom and printing plant to build not just a casino but also a resort along the Chicago River. On Tuesday, work finally began on the project city officials hope will generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the underfunded police and fire pensions. Heather Cherone reports on the casino chain's efforts to build a permanent casino at 700 W. Chicago Ave.
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Demolition will take approximately five months, and no explosives will be used. The permanent casino isn’t scheduled to open until fall 2026.
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Ald. Walter Burnett (27th Ward) supports the project. Here's what he had to say: “This is my neighborhood, these are my people. It is only incumbent upon me to make sure people from my neighborhood do well. This is personal for me.”
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Arne Duncan, former Chicago Public Schools CEO and the founder of the gun violence prevention nonprofit Chicago CRED, speaks at a news conference Feb. 1, 2024. (WTTW News) |
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Arne Duncan, former Chicago Public Schools CEO and the founder of the gun violence prevention nonprofit Chicago CRED, speaks at a news conference Feb. 1, 2024. (WTTW News) |
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Before Arne Duncan co-founded Chicago CRED—CREATE REAL ECONOMIC DESTINY—an anti-gun violence organization, the 59-year-old South Side native spent most of his working life in education. From 2009 to 2016, he was the Secretary of Education under President Obama and before that, he was the CEO of Chicago Public Schools.
But to the lifelong Hyde Park resident, there’s a direct line between these two fields. “Here in Chicago, particularly on the South and West sides, we fail to keep our kids safe,” says Duncan. “All my life, I've preached, "go to college and think long term." But so many kids in Chicago are just trying to survive. If you're in survival mode, you don't have the luxury of thinking long-term.”
When Duncan worked at CPS from 2001 to 2009, he kept a drawing a middle school student made for him on his desk. It was a picture of the child climbing up a ladder outside a building, with the caption "If I grow up, I want to be a fireman."
“That always stuck with me so much, because for me, growing up was always "when I grew up," not ‘if I grew up,’” says Duncan. “This is the crisis facing Chicago. It's the cancer that's destroying our city and we have to put a major dent in it. That’s why I made the move from education to gun violence prevention.”
Click here to learn more about CHICAGO CRED.
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Back in the Day: August 28, 1968 - The Battle of Michigan Avenue
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"Young "hippie" standing in front of a row of National Guard soldiers, across the street from the Hilton Hotel at Grant Park, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, two days before the Battle of Michigan Avenue on August 26, 1968" (Credit: Wikicommons) |
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During the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, only one protest permit was issued by Mayor Richard J. Daley: a massive demonstration in Grant Park. Around 15,000 people showed up for the action, and Chicago police formed a human barricade to prevent protesters from marching to the convention nearby. Blocked by the police, protesters began clearing Grant Park and ended up moving to Michigan Avenue near the Conrad Hilton Hotel. The scene got progressively more violent and chaotic.
CPD and the National Guard, mobilized to Chicago for crowd control, beat protesters and even some reporters. The clash would be called the Battle of Michigan Avenue. All in all, 100 protesters and 119 police officers were treated for injuries. About 600 protesters were arrested. The debacle became one of the defining images of the 1968 DNC. Chicago would not host a major political party’s convention until 1996.
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Learn more about advertising & sponsorship with WTTW. |
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What’s a now-closed Chicago neighborhood spot that you miss dearly?
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your response. Your answers will be published Friday. |
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Other News From Around Town: |
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$9.2M Winning Lottery Ticket Sold at Jewel-Osco in Addison (WGN)
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Bridgeport Records Brings House Music Vinyl Shop to the South Side (Block Club)
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Bank Records Show How Alleged Highland Park Shooter Paid for Gun, Prosecutors Say (Chicago Tribune)
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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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