{"id":889416,"date":"2026-10-21T00:06:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T00:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/889416\/"},"modified":"2026-10-21T00:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T00:06:09","slug":"the-rundown-the-illinois-species-and-habitats-most-at-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/889416\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rundown: The Illinois species and habitats most at risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good afternoon! It\u2019s Tuesday, and fellow Halloween lovers can submit photos<\/a> of their decorations. My colleagues may include them in a story \u2014 and may even crown a winner. Here\u2019s what else you need to know today.<\/p>\n

1. Trump is gutting the Endangered Species Act, putting dozens of Illinois species at risk<\/a><\/p>\n

Last month, the Trump administration determined razing a habitat where endangered or threatened species breed, feed and shelter would no longer face federal penalties. In a separate, internal memo, the administration made clear it also plans to reinterpret the law to only ban the intentional killing of an endangered species, letting go of the long-held criminalization of attempts to harass, harm, pursue, wound, trap, capture or collect at-risk species.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese rule changes, when you zoom out, are an assault on threatened and endangered species unlike we\u2019ve ever seen before,\u201d said Elizabeth Forsyth, a senior attorney in the biodiversity defense program with Earthjustice. \u201cIt\u2019s an effort to eliminate habitat protections, eliminate automatic protections for threatened species and give industry power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freshwater mussels are particularly imperiled in Illinois, where they comprise half of all the federally endangered wildlife present. In Illinois and the Midwest, mussels have contended with decades of industrial agricultural activity that have significantly altered freshwater habitats and river connectivity.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the rusty patched bumble bee was once common in 28 states, including Illinois and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The pollinator has declined by nearly 90% over the past 30 years, occupying just 0.1% of its historic range. The bee is small and spends half the year in soil, making it difficult for experts to spot, let alone a developer building a road.<\/p>\n

And piping plovers are competing with humans for popular beachfront and coastal habitat, prime for real estate development and recreation. Experts worry any loss of habitat protection could have serious implications for the birds, which plummeted to about a dozen breeding pairs in the 1990s but has made progress in recent years. [WBEZ\/Grist<\/a>]<\/p>\n

2. The feud between progressive unions that put Mayor Johnson in office yielded mayoral candidate Alexi Giannoulias a key endorsement<\/a><\/p>\n

Service Employees International Union Locals 1 and 73 threw their formidable support behind Giannoulias, the presumed frontrunner with a campaign war chest of $19.2 million. SEIU affiliates together contributed more than $4.5 million to Mayor Brandon Johnson\u2019s 2023 campaign. Those resources will now presumably be available to Giannoulias \u2014 and denied to Johnson, who has just $379,471 in cash on hand.<\/p>\n

As my colleague Fran Spielman writes, SEIU\u2019s decision to divorce itself from Johnson comes as no surprise and has been building since early 2025. That year, SEIU accused the Chicago Teachers Union of crafting contract proposals that would train teacher assistants to do work currently done by members of SEIU Local 73, potentially diminishing the union\u2019s future ranks. SEIU Local 73 went so far as to sign onto an internal SEIU-wide resolution declaring itself \u201cunder attack\u201d by CTU.<\/p>\n

The conflict was ultimately resolved with a CTU retreat on the job raid issue and a new teachers contract that included an increase in the number of teaching assistants, as well as job protections. Nevertheless, the damage was done. Trust was broken, along with the once powerful coalition of progressive unions that helped put Johnson in office.<\/p>\n

Also at issue was the mayor\u2019s decision to join forces with CTU in pressuring the board to take out a high-interest loan to reimburse the city for a $175 million pension payment for nonteaching school employees that ultimately triggered the firing of Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez. [Chicago Sun-Times<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Mayoral contenders began submitting their nominating petitions yesterday, the start to the weeklong filing period for the February election that will help whittle down the crowded race by filtering out those who fail to collect the 12,500 valid signatures needed to make the ballot. [WBEZ<\/a>]<\/p>\n

3. Another woman says she was sexually assaulted at a University of Chicago fraternity house<\/a><\/p>\n

The lawsuit, filed in Cook County court, holds that a member of Alpha Delta Phi sexually assaulted the 19-year-old woman during a fraternity party on Feb. 7. The woman is identified only as \u201cJane Doe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawsuit comes just over a week after the Chicago Police Department opened an investigation into another report of sexual assault at a fraternity party at the University of Chicago chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi. That report drew outrage amid a nationwide reckoning over sexual assault spurred by a reported gang rape at a Cornell University fraternity house in upstate New York.<\/p>\n

Jane Doe\u2019s lawsuit points to a history of police investigations into sexual assault reports tied to the university\u2019s Alpha Delta Phi fraternity chapter, my colleague Cindy Hernandez reports.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit says a fraternity member gave Jane Doe a shot of alcohol and she was later found unconscious in a room. A friend found her and helped her leave the house, but she struggled to speak and walk as she was led out, according to the suit. The next morning, Jane Doe discovered bloodstains in her underwear and reported the alleged assault to Chicago police, the lawsuit says. That investigation remains open. [Chicago Sun-Times<\/a>]<\/p>\n

4. A Chicago Fashion Week show celebrated work entirely from openly LGBTQ+ designers<\/a><\/p>\n

Each year, Chicago Fashion Week stages creations by local designers through a series of events and runway shows. But this year brought a first: More than 100 attendees gathered at an art gallery in Chicago\u2019s Wicker Park neighborhood last Thursday for the sold-out Queer Couture Runway show. Executive producer Madison Smith and artistic director Emry Yarger said it was the first event in Chicago Fashion Week to explicitly state it was created by queer creatives to highlight queerness in design.<\/p>\n

The show featured nine designers ranging in experience levels and styles. Organizers told WBEZ the idea for centering the show around queerness came up organically.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlack and Brown, queer and trans people set our culture across the board, and that deserves to be honored and recognized,\u201d Yarger said. \u201cI am super hopeful that this was a space for folks with those identities, for all queer folks, to present their work and to show how they are the tastemakers of our whole culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can see photos in the link. [WBEZ<\/a>]<\/p>\n

5. \u2018Omar,\u2019 a new American opera backed by Grammy winner Rhiannon Giddens, finally lands in Chicago this weekend<\/a><\/p>\n

Muslim scholar Omar ibn Said was forcibly taken from his home in West Africa and sold into slavery in the American South; he wrote his story in Arabic while enslaved in North Carolina in the 1800s. As WBEZ\u2019s Courtney Kueppers reports, the autobiography inspired a Pulitzer Prize-winning opera by Giddens and \u201cGet Out\u201d composer Michael Abels.<\/p>\n

The work will open for a short run starting Friday at Chicago\u2019s Lyric Opera, a co-commissioner of the work. As the show makes its long-awaited Midwest debut, Lyric leadership encourages Chicagoans to read the original text and says now is the right time to present this deeply American story.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like there\u2019s a bit of a paradox, but there\u2019s no better way to celebrate the history of our country than by confronting it honestly,\u201d Lyric President and CEO John Mangum said. \u201cAnd I think this is a work of art that confronts the history of our country and the impact of slavery.\u201d [WBEZ<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what else is happening<\/p>\n

Senate Democrats launched their first ad in deep-red Mississippi as the party\u2019s midterm optimism spreads in the South. [AP<\/a>]France announced nightly curfews \u201cfor as long as necessary\u201d in Paris and other big cities amid the country\u2019s most destructive riots in years. [AP<\/a>]Gas in Chicago is now more than $5 a gallon. Does buying a hybrid make sense? [Chicago Sun-Times<\/a>]Uptown Theatre owners hope huge crowds at Open House Chicago this past weekend encourage the city to help fund a restoration of the long-closed building. [Block Club Chicago<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Oh, and one more thing \u2026<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s bingeing distressing documentaries or falling asleep to grisly podcasts, many of us are obsessed with true crime. But could we actually solve a real-life murder on our own?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a question explored by \u201cAna the Cleaner,\u201d the debut feature film from Chicago commercial director Guy Bauer. The namesake protagonist is a Ukrainian immigrant and housekeeper who listens to the \u201cTrue Crime and Killer Wine\u201d podcast while cleaning the ritzy homes of wealthy Chicagoans. When a creepy client\u2019s wife disappears, she launches an amateur investigation with the help of her quirky friends and family.<\/p>\n

Shot in the city and surrounding suburbs, the comedic thriller sold out its premiere last week in the opening days of the Chicago International Film Festival, Erica Thompson reports for the Chicago Sun-Times. Nominated for the event\u2019s Chicago Award, it will screen again tomorrow and get a third screening Saturday at AMC Newcity. [Chicago Sun-Times<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Tell me something good \u2026<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s perfect weather has me wondering, what\u2019s your favorite spot to go hiking in Illinois?<\/p>\n

Marcin writes:<\/p>\n

\u201cBy far, Starved Rock State Park is my favorite spot to hike in IL. Walking through those sandstone canyons makes me feel immersed in nature, and questions the idea of our state having a flat topography. Fall season is great, but also during winter, hikers can experience frozen waterfalls.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alicia writes:<\/p>\n

\u201cOur neighborhood in Grundy County is near Goose Lake Prairie. It is a beautiful and calm nature retreat. Each season brings a new variety of blooming plants and wildlife to view. The trails are peaceful getaways from the hustle of everyday life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feel free to email me, and your response may be included in the newsletter this week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Good afternoon! It\u2019s Tuesday, and fellow Halloween lovers can submit photos of their decorations. My colleagues may include…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":889417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":["post-889416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=889416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/889417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=889416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=889416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=889416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}