Latest news with #CBSNewsChicago
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Police investigation underway at University of Illinois Chicago
Police are responding to an incident at the University of Illinois Chicago on Tuesday. According to a UIC alert, police activity was reported at 1801 West Taylor Street. The university alert said "Precautionary measures are being taken." Police have not confirmed the cause of the investigation. This is a developing story. CBS News Chicago will continue to provide updates.
CBS News
4 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
Chicago woman says rotting berries from neighbor's tree are feeding rat problems in Lincoln Square
A woman from Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood said a giant tree's sweet berries are causing a sour situation, feeding into the neighborhood's rat problem, and no one will listen to her concerns. "That's why I chose to contact Channel 2 News," she said. "I need someone to listen to me." Jane, who did not want to share her last name, never fancied herself a farmer. But for the last 28 summers, she has gotten quite the haul of rotten berries landing in her backyard. CBS News Chicago met Jane as she was scooping rotten berries out of nets hanging between garages on her property and collecting them in plastic bags. The daily harvests add up. "Since I've been gathering them and weighing them, since June 14, I'm over 215 pounds of berries, just this year" Jane said. The nets don't catch all the berries; even more are piled up on the ground and nearby garages. They are not edible for humans. "You can't use these for cooking. You can't use these for donating to anybody," Jane said. Instead, the berries make a delicious meal for pigeons, bees, fruit flies and, most frustratingly, rats. Jane has taken plenty of pictures of the rats the berries attract. One mother rat was spotted carrying her baby as she stopped for a snack earlier this month. Jane says the berries are creating an unsanitary, slippery and smelly situation. "There is rat feces everywhere," Jane said. The berries fall for about six weeks straight, and end up rolling around in the nets and on the ground. Jane can't control the decaying fruit because it is not coming from her yard. It is coming from a gigantic mulberry tree on her neighbor's property. The tree in question is so big that some of its branches are held up with metal. "If we get a sudden downburst, that chain's not going to hold anything," Jane said. Jane shared her concerns with 47th Ward Ald. Matt Martin, but was told the city can't do much because the tree is on privately owned land. "It is your right to take down the branches that encroach on your property line, but I know you mentioned the problem is with the entire tree," Martin's staff wrote. "Our office does not have the capability to compel your neighbors to take down the tree." The "take matters into your own hands" advice when it comes to tree branches crossing property lines doesn't always work out. CBS News Chicago covered a similar overbearing tree story in 2021. In that case, Roula Savakis of Chicago's Peterson Park community was so frustrated with a wall of trees blocking her windows that she hacked them back. In response, her neighbors took her to court, alleging at least $100,000 of damage. Asher and Cynthia Kohn accused Savakis of violating the Illinois Wrongful Tree Cutting Act. They claimed she damaged 38 of their trees intentionally and illegally. Four years later, CBS News Chicago has learned that the Savakis family ended up selling their home to the tree-owning neighbors and relocating. In Lincoln Square, as Jane's dog Brutus went hunting for mulberry-loving rats, CBS News Chicago went looking for the tree owners. Jane and two plant experts suspect the tree is a white mulberry. "Interestingly, white mulberry was introduced to the U.S. back in colonial times because it is the preferred food of the silkworm caterpillar, which is where we get natural silk from," said Jamie Viebach, horticulture educator at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Viebach said while white mulberry is not officially listed as an invasive species in Illinois, it is non-native and very weedy. "It can basically be considered invasive (though, without the legal ramifications of the official designation)," Viebach wrote. And the tree is treated as invasive by some land managers. "It is not regulated or banned in any statewide way in Illinois, though it is often managed and removed by land managers when it is found growing in natural areas," said Chris Evans, an extension forestry and research specialist at the Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Viebach also noted that the Morton Arboretum lists white mulberry as a "problem plant." Jane agrees with the description. "This is a health issue right now," she said. "This is a safety issue." CBS News Chicago knocked on the neighbors' door, but never got an answer. The city can issue citations to homeowners whose vegetation creates a "public nuisance." CBS News Chicago was told that while Savakis' situation with her neighbors' trees in 2021 met the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation criteria for a public nuisance, Jane's berry situation does not meet those criteria and does not warrant any fines. The city said the following constitutes a nuisance per ordinance 10-32-140 (Trees, shrubs or other plant materials – Public nuisance):
CBS News
15 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
Chicago woman is fit to be tied with rotting berries falling from neighbors' tree
A woman from Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood said a giant tree's sweet berries are causing a sour situation. The woman, Jane, said she was looking for someone finally to listen to her concerns. "That's why I chose to contact Channel 2 News," she said. "I need someone to listen to me." Jane never fancied herself a farmer. But for the last 28 summers, she has gotten quite the haul of rotten berries landing in her backyard. CBS News Chicago met Jane as she was clad in blue jeans and a T-shirt honoring the old Neo nightclub in Lincoln Park, scooping rotten berries out of nets hanging between garages on her property and collecting them in plastic bags. The daily harvests add up. "Since I've been gathering them and weighing them, since June 14, I'm over 215 pounds of berries," Jane said, "just this year." There are more rotten berries beyond the nets. Even more are piled up on the ground and nearby garages — and they're not suitable for people to eat. "You can't use these for cooking. You can't use these for donating to anybody," Jane said. Instead, the berries make a delicious meal for all sorts of members of the animal kingdom — pigeons, bees, fruit flies — and most frustratingly, rats. Jane snapped photos of her hungry, hairy visitors of the order Rodentia. One momma rat was spotted carrying her baby as she stopped for a snack earlier this month. "There is rat feces everywhere," Jane said. It has made for an unsanitary, slippery, smelly situation. "It's something like old beer, fermented wine," said Jane. The berries fall for about six weeks straight, and end up rolling around in the nets and on the ground. Jane can't control the decaying fruit, because it is not coming from her yard. It is coming from a gigantic mulberry tree on her neighbor's property. The tree in question is so big that some of its branches are held up with metal. "If we get a sudden downburst, that chain's not going to hold anything," Jane said. Jane shared concerns with Ald. Matt Martin (47th), but was told the city can't do much because the tree is on privately owned land. "It is your right to take down the branches that encroach on your property line, but I know you mentioned the problem is with the entire tree," Martin's staff wrote. "Our office does not have the capability to compel your neighbors to take down the tree." The take-matters-into-your-own hands advice when it comes to tree branches crossing property lines doesn't always work out. CBS News Chicago covered a similar overbearing tree story in 2021. In that instance, Roula Savakis of Chicago's Peterson Park community was so frustrated with a wall of trees blocking her windows that she hacked them back. In response, her neighbors took her to court, alleging at least $100,000 of damage. Asher and Cynthia Kohn accused Savakis of violating the Illinois Wrongful Tree Cutting Act. They claimed she damaged 38 of their trees intentionally and illegally. Four years later, CBS News Chicago has learned that the Savakis family ended up selling their home to the tree-owning neighbors and relocating. Back in Lincoln Square — as Jane's dog, Brutus, went hunting for mulberry-loving rats — CBS News Chicago went looking for the tree owners. Jane and two plant experts suspect the tree is a white mulberry. "Interestingly, white mulberry was introduced to the U.S. back in colonial times because it is the preferred food of the silkworm caterpillar, which is where we get natural silk from," said Jamie Viebach, horticulture educator at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Viebach said while white mulberry is not officially listed as an invasive species in Illinois, it is non-native and very weedy. "It can basically be considered invasive (though, without the legal ramifications of the official designation)," Viebach wrote. The tree is treated as invasive by some land managers. "It is not regulated or banned in any statewide way in Illinois, though it is often managed and removed by land managers when it is found growing in natural areas," said Chris Evans, an extension forestry and research specialist at the Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences at the U of I Urbana-Champaign. Viebach also noted that the white mulberry is a species the Morton Arboretum lists as a "problem plant." Such a description sounds fitting to Jane. "This is a health issue right now," Jane said. "This is a safety issue." Berry season will be wrapped up in a few days. Will farmer Jane be back at it next year with another season of falling berries? CBS News Chicago knocked on the neighbors' door, but never got an answer. The city can issue citations to homeowners whose vegetation creates a "public nuisance." CBS News Chicago was told that while Savakis' situation with her neighbors' trees in 2021 met the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation criteria for a public nuisance, Jane's berry situation does not meet those criteria and does not warrant any fines. The city said the following constitutes a nuisance per ordinance 10-32-140 Trees, shrubs or other plant materials – Public nuisance:
CBS News
a day ago
- CBS News
Cook County Board to hold hearing on systemic failures in addressing domestic violence
Thousands of domestic violence cases and orders of protection get filed in Cook County every year. CBS News Chicago has been investigating the systemic failures that have left survivors at risk. On Tuesday, the Cook County Board of Commissioners will hold a hearing on what needs to be fixed. Commissioner Donna Miller (D-6th) is heading the hearings. "I've heard from so many women just in the community about the dangers of the lack of protection with orders of protection," Miller said. "I've seen it, unfortunately, too many times on a personal level." Miller said she helped a family member suffering domestic abuse get help. She said she found firsthand how hard the system can be, from getting a protection order to holding an abuser accountable — as well as services for recovery. At the hearing on Tuesday, numerous survivors will share their stories of what they went through. Among them will be Sarah Brown. "This is a challenging system, and there's been children that has died, that has been abused, that has been estranged from their parents because of the system being just a mess," Brown said. The hearing is open to the public, and will be held on the fifth floor of the County Building —located at 118 N. Clark St. and part of the same complex as City Hall, at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
CBS News
4 days ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Watch Live: 116th Race to Mackinac Island sets sail for 2025
The 116th Race to Mackinac sets sail on Friday afternoon. Nearly 300 boats will race more than 330 miles from Chicago to Mackinac Island in Michigan. The 2,500 sailors are coming to compete from 49 states and 14 countries. The race is hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club, which is also celebrating its 150th anniversary. CBS News Chicago is streaming the start of the race live on Pluto TV, the CBS News app, and on Paramount+ starting at 2:30 p.m. The Cruising Division starts at 3 p.m.
