BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND A beloved 300-year-old bur oak tree will be cut down at Lincoln Park Zoo today because it has reached the end of its urban lifespan. Last fall, Katrina Quint, the zoo’s director of horticulture, estimated that the tree was about 80 percent dead. The tree’s … Continue reading Saying Goodbye to Lincoln Park Zoo’s 300-Year-Old Oak and 11 Things You Can Do to Protect the Environment
BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER OF NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND Today is the six-year anniversary of my blog, Nature in Chicagoland, and I'm so happy to have written more than 225 articles about the woods, wetlands, prairies, lakes, and other natural areas that make up Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana. I'm pleased that Nature in Chicagoland has … Continue reading Celebrating the Six-Year Anniversary of Nature in Chicagoland
When an alderperson or other elected official fails to hold himself or herself to high levels of ethical behavior and personal and professional decorum and is under multiple investigations by the FBI, the Chicago Board of Ethics, the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office, and the Office of the Inspector General, the public loses confidence in them, … Continue reading Meet Susanna Ernst, a Candidate for Alderperson of Chicago’s 45th Ward
BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND BLOG I wasn’t lucky enough to be friends with Lin Brehmer (the beloved WXRT disc jockey who died yesterday), but I was a fan of his for more than three decades. I once made him laugh at a holiday party. I was with my wife … Continue reading Remembering Lin Brehmer and the Time I Made Him Laugh
BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND I wrote many stories about nature destinations in 2022, but I also covered other topics that were near and dear to my heart including stories about the sudden loss of one of my best friends, my father and other family, a visit to the Flight … Continue reading The Most-Popular Non-Nature Stories at Nature in Chicagoland in 2022
BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF "NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND" BLOG UPDATED OCTOBER 2024 All he wanted to do was to walk the city streets in peace every day. Joseph Kromelis walked and walked the streets that sprawled below the steel and stone canyons of Chicago’s Loop, Magnificent Mile, and Streeterville, past bustling businessmen, … Continue reading An Elegy for Chicago’s Walking Man
BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER & AUTHOR OF NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND UPDATED OCTOBER 2024 A ghost horse emerging from the waters of a stagnant pond near the cemetery’s entrance. A phantom farm house that grows smaller and then gradually disappears if you approach it. A blue flashing light that races down the footpath to the cemetery … Continue reading Visit Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery Not Only for Spooks and Scares, But Also For Its Rich Local History
When I learned that Walter Kosary died recently at age 93 (in 2019), I have to admit I was surprised. Mr. Kosary buried my father, aunt, uncle, minister, scoutmaster, principal, and many other of my family, friends, and acquaintances. He did the same for the families of other parishioners at my long-closed, but beloved, Hope … Continue reading A Tale of Three Funeral Directors: Thoughts on the Passing of a Funeral Industry Icon, My Dad, and the Man Who Took Me to My First Blues Bar
BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF “NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND” BLOG UPDATED 5/21/26 Have you ever visited a national park, monument, or other National Park Service (NPS) property? If not, now is a great time to start. According to the NPS, “the National Park System covers more than 85 million acres and is comprised of … Continue reading 6 National Park Service Destinations Within 0 to 220 Miles of Chicago