Leonor Vivanco

Dozen of children's small rubber balls lie on the floor of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's water treatment plant in Stickney on July 20, 2017. The balls had fallen off the conveyer belt and onto the floor gates.

A snapping turtle? Take a trip down the drain at Chicago-area water treatment plant

June 3, 2018 at 10:14 a.m.

Under the floor grates in a building at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's Stickney wastewater treatment plant lies a mucky treasure trove of kids' colorful rubber super balls that have...

Public restrooms will be available north of The 606 Ridgeway trailhead in Logan Square once a YMCA addition is completed in winter of 2018.

YMCA expansion to include public bathrooms near 606 trail

May 23, 2019 at 4:43 a.m.

Steps away from the western end of The 606 trail, runners and cyclists next year will be able to find some much needed relief when a set of new public...

Park District signs contract for oft-delayed cleanup of DuSable Park on lakefront

May 23, 2019 at 4:42 a.m.

The dream to turn a vacant 3-acre peninsula into a public park along the lakefront could be inching toward reality. On Wednesday, the Chicago Park District board awarded a $1.4...

The house at 928 W. Cullom Ave. in Chicago's Buena Park neighborhood, photographed July 12, 2017, is the proposed site for a sober-living home that many neighbors and the local alderman oppose.

Operator of proposed sober-living home to seek city approval despite alderman’s opposition

June 3, 2018 at 11:46 a.m.

A request for city approval to operate a sober-living facility in the Buena Park neighborhood for men recovering from addiction will move forward despite the local alderman's opposition, officials said...

South Siders push for dog parks

June 3, 2018 at 11:41 a.m.

South Side residents are doggedly pushing for space for their four-legged friends to play off-leash at neighborhood parks. A number of efforts are underway to try to bring a dog...

Some neighbors oppose sober-living home proposed in Uptown’s Buena Park

May 23, 2019 at 4:40 a.m.

A proposal to bring a sober-living home for men recovering from addiction to the Buena Park neighborhood is facing opposition from some residents who say the Uptown community is inundated...

Kids section at Harold Washington Library reopens as ‘active learning lab’

May 23, 2019 at 4:40 a.m.

The children's library at the downtown Harold Washington Library Center is no longer the traditional stuffy and quiet space equipped only with books and wooden chairs and tables. It has...

Condom giveaway at Lincoln Park Zoo to highlight consequences of population growth

June 3, 2018 at 3:20 p.m.

In an effort to draw attention to the impact human population growth can have on wildlife and the environment, the Center for Biological Diversity plans to distribute hundreds of condoms...

The Fourth of July fireworks at Navy Pier begin at 9:30 p.m.

5 things to know about the Navy Pier fireworks show

May 23, 2019 at 4:37 a.m.

Navy Pier is preparing to light up the Chicago skyline with a fireworks extravaganza Tuesday that's part of its annual Independence Day celebration. It's the city's only official lakefront fireworks...

For $10, Brookfield Zoo visitors can feed a giraffe

June 3, 2018 at 4:06 p.m.

For Logan Wehrle's second birthday, his parents brought him to Brookfield Zoo, where he stood Monday on a short wooden box with a piece of kale in his outstretched hand....

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