Good morning, Chicago.
More space for animals, less space for humans.
Sure, it’s not as snappy as “connect, care, conserve,” the new tagline for the entity formerly known as the Brookfield Zoo, now to be renamed Brookfield Zoo Chicago. But that ethos, broadly speaking, drives a major renovation project for the rebranded suburban attraction, announced this morning and timed to its centennial in 2034.
“It’s really a flip from where zoos were at 100 years ago, when it was all visitor-centric,” says Mike Adkesson, the former vice president of veterinary care at the zoo and now its president and CEO. “You had these big, expansive, central galleries that looked into small diagrams where the animals were displayed. As zoos have evolved over the last century, we’ve moved away from that entirely.”
The first phase of that plan is already underway. Later this month, Brookfield Zoo will unveil its $10 million dolphin habitat renovation, and in spring 2025, its $66 million new Tropical Forests exhibit will open to the public after breaking ground last March.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
Subscribe to more newsletters | Puzzles & Games | Today’s eNewspaper edition
City and state quickly moves thousands of migrants from shelters into homes across the South and West sides. But will they stay?
As the number of migrants in the city’s remaining 23 shelters has shrunk to approximately 12,000 — down from a peak of more than 15,000 in 27 city-run shelters in mid-December — some migrant advocates are questioning whether the rapid resettlement plan is in the best interest of asylum-seekers.
The Internal Revenue Service building in Washington on May 4, 2021.
IRS turns to wealthy non-filers in push to get more tax dollars
The agency is using letters to target 125,000 cases of taxpayers with incomes of more than $400,000 who didn’t file returns between the years 2017 and 2021, according to a Thursday announcement.
‘I didn’t want to leave Ella’: Responding officers testify during Ella French murder trial
Officer Nicolas Morales heard a frenzied call over the radio, rushed to the scene and saw Ella French prone on the ground.
He thought she had just been knocked out, he told the jury, but quickly realized she was unresponsive. Then, he heard soft moans from her partner, Carlos Yanez Jr., who was on the ground and murmuring, “I’m shot.”
“I didn’t want to leave Ella,” Morales said, his voice breaking, “but he needed help so I went over to him.”
Morales and other responding officers testified Thursday about their arrival to 63rd Street and Bell Avenue to find French fatally wounded and Yanez clinging to life. As the trial for a man accused in their shooting moved to its fourth day, police officers told the jury about their frantic drives to the University of Chicago Medical Center to get help for French and Yanez.
Donald Trump’s lawyers seek reversal of ruling that dropped former president from Illinois GOP primary ballot
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are appealing a Cook County circuit judge’s ruling that Trump’s name should be struck from the March 19 Illinois Republican primary ballot because of his role in the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
A white-tailed deer forages for food on April 14, 2014, at the Heckrodt Wetland Reserve in Menasha, Wis. (Dan Powers/AP)
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signs bill increasing out-of-state bow and crossbow deer hunting license fees
The Republican-authored measure raises the cost of the licenses by an additional $35 to $200. The state Department of Natural Resources estimates the increase will generate an additional $543,200 annually for the state’s fish and wildlife account.
Column: Confidence rising at Cubs camp with the old gang back after a disappointing finish to 2023
Does the return of Cody Bellinger make the Cubs favorites in the National League Central? DraftKings Sportsbook now has the Cubs as the favorites, slightly ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals.
At the very least the Cubs should be considered contenders, which is what was from fans expected every year from 2015-21 before the summer sell-off in ’21 of Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and the rest of the former core.
“I was already feeling that way beforehand,” shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “This just solidifies that even more.”
Iowa star Caitlin Clark declares for WNBA Draft
The guard, with one more year of eligibility, became the all-time leading women’s scorer in major college basketball by scoring 33 points to pass Lynette Woodard and post her 17th career triple-double in a 108-60 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday night.
Philadelphia Phillies are scrapping $1 hot dog nights following unruly fan behavior
What wasn’t positive about dollar dog nights?
Armed with projectile frankfurters, some unruly Phillies fans began chucking their favorite Hatfield meat during a game last year, and the dogs soared like cans of corn throughout the stands and onto the field. The demand for the discount dogs also led to clogged lanes — if not arteries — on the concourse, and the cramped spaces led to security and safety concerns.
Review: ‘About Dry Grasses’ is a richly evocative 2024 highlight, at the Film Center for a short run
This is the latest, and one of the greatest, from co-writer and director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, the Istanbul-based writer-director, writes Tribune film critic Michael Phillips.
In memoriam: Reasons to love Richard Lewis, and why he loved Chicago
Though he would perform at such spacious local venues as the Vic and Park West — and he played a sold-out Carnegie Hall in New York in 1989 — Richard Lewis remained loyal to our city and especially to intimate, 100-seat Zanies.
