Celebrating the Six-Year Anniversary of Nature in Chicagoland

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 …

Meet Susanna Ernst, a Candidate for Alderperson of Chicago’s 45th Ward

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, …

Remembering Lin Brehmer and the Time I Made Him Laugh

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 at her friend’s party at a high-rise condo in Streeterville. Many …

The Most-Popular Non-Nature Stories at Nature in Chicagoland in 2022

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 …

An Elegy for Chicago’s Walking Man

BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER & AUTHOR OF NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND 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, tourists walking five abreast …

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

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 …