Chicago just had its snowiest start to the season since 1978. But predicting how much snow it'll get over the next few months can be tricky. Here's what's happening to seasons in Illinois — including increasingly warming falls, like the one we just had. For @chicagotribune.com:

A snowy, cold start to winter follows a very warm fall. How are Illinois seasons changing? Story from environmental ace @adrianaperez.bsky.social www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/05/i...

I'm in the @chicagotribune.com today calling on @govpritzker.illinois.gov to protect the Illinois wetlands that keep floods out of our basements & our water clean. EPA's new rule would strip the vast majority of Illinois wetlands of Clean Water Act protections. Article by @adrianaperez.bsky.social

The state has already lost 90% of its original wetlands to urban development and agriculture. Advocates want the state to protect what remains now that the EPA is cutting protections. By @adrianaperez.bsky.social www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/i...

Illinois lawmakers urged to 'step up' and 'fight like hell' as EPA moves to cut federal protections for wetlands. The state has lost 90% of its original wetlands and currently has no comprehensive safeguards. For @chicagotribune.com:

In my first collab with @chicagotribune.com data reporter Claire Malon, we take a look at the bird flu and how the 2 million (!) cases in turkeys this year are affecting wholesale and retail prices ahead of Thanksgiving — as well as recurring challenges since the start of the outbreak in 2022 🦃

For the last 16 years, this Winnetka couple has helped plant almost half a million fruit trees — mostly breadfruit — across the Caribbean and Africa, about 250,000 of those in Jamaica alone. Breadfruit trees are climate-resilient and ensure food security post-hurricane. Gift link:

"In areas densely packed with tall cattails," @adrianaperez.bsky.social reports, "muskrats create a 'patchwork' of small openings that allow plants of different heights to grow. That, in turn, creates habitat for diverse native wildlife."

A great read about the environment and muskrats: With their surgical nibbles, these large, semi-aquatic, buck-toothed rodents have emerged as crucial helpers for ecologists restoring degraded wetlands across the Great Lakes. By @adrianaperez.bsky.social www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/04/m...

A man is in the hospital after a violent arrest by an immigration agent. Disturbing video below. @adrianaperez.bsky.social with the story for @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/02/m...

Story from @adrianaperez.bsky.social: www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/02/m...

Videos on social media show Ricardo Aguayo Rodriguez struggling on the ground while a federal immigration agent keeps him in a headlock during an arrest in Melrose Park, IL. “Por favor, amigo,” he pleads as he groans and yells in pain. He has been hospitalized. w/ @staceywescott.bsky.social:

Important story: In Chicago, immigrants who thought they were following the legal path are also facing deportation under Trump crackdown. By @adrianaperez.bsky.social www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/05/i...

As masked government functionaries invade Chicago neighborhoods on behalf of Trump, members of the clergy stand up and bear witness: @tesskenny.bsky.social @adrianaperez.bsky.social www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/28/i...

Pritzker: "In any other country, if federal agents fired upon journalists & protesters when unprovoked what would we call it? If officials marched down streets harassing civilians & demanding their papers, what would we say? I don't think we'd have trouble calling it what it is: authoritarianism"

Police investigate after CBS Chicago reporter’s truck shot out with a pepper ball outside ICE facility in Broadview, a day after an independent journalist was detained by agents while covering a protest there. For @chicagotribune.com:

Roughly 20 bystanders and passersby started following the officers through downtown Chicago, chanting “ICE, go home!” The crowd of protesters around them grew bigger, yelling “shame.” 📝 @adrianaperez.bsky.social + Cam'ron Hardy 📷 @briancassella.bsky.social www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/28/i...

Reportedly some ICE detainees are held for days, even up to a week. Our room stank of sweat & pepper ball powder after just a few hours. Their room appeared dirty, filled with men dressed for labor, trying to get comfortable to sleep in chairs or on the cold floor in the cinder block room.

I saw one man sitting in the room who had gauze wrapped around his head like he had a serious head wound. The room looked uncomfortably full at half "capacity." Keep in mind, this is seating capacity. Imagine a conference room with max capacity 80, and then holding people in there for days.

Their rooms were maybe 30x30. Each room was marked with a sign reading "Capacity: 83" (I think, it was low 80s). There were roughly 40 men in one room, with an open bathroom area to the side. It was harder to get a look at the women's holding room, but looked like 10-12 women.

Yes, arresting a journalist for doing their job is a big flashing red light. But I don't want people to forget the whole reason everyone is out there. This is what I saw inside: Four holding rooms. Two smaller rooms were being used for holding protesters. Two larger rooms held ICE/CBP captives.

I’m out, I'm sore. I'll have more later, but right now I have to say a couple of things. First, walking out of there to learn about the kindness, support, and quick action from so many of you all has meant the world to me, my wife, and co-founder, Raven. Thank you.

As fear of ICE arrests grips immigrants across Chicago, faith leaders offer resources and moral support. With brilliant @tesskenny.bsky.social for @chicagotribune.com:

Jane Goodall’s lifelong studies into chimpanzees began six decades ago, when she set foot on the shores of Gombe Stream National Park along Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania. But it was later, at a 1986 conference on chimpanzees in Chicago, that she would experience a pivotal moment in her work.

An Elgin man who was born in the United States said he was handcuffed, questioned and placed in a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol vehicle before dawn, part of a blitz of immigration enforcement activity reported in the Chicago area early Tuesday.

Got to hang out with Jane Goodall two days last week and ask her some questions. (Can't believe I just typed that.) A little bit about her return to Chicago, where in 1986 she pivoted from studying chimpanzees to advocating for their conservation. For @chicagotribune.com:

There are more than 200 water-hungry data centers in Illinois. Only Virginia, Texas and California have more, @adrianaperez.bsky.social writes. "These companies are moving into small towns, threatening to deplete municipal water supplies, wells and groundwater."

A flower vendor arrested by federal immigration agents last weekend in Chicago’s Archer Heights neighborhood is now back in Mexico. “He doesn’t understand how all of this happened. We don’t either.” 📝 @lauranrodriguez.bsky.social and @adrianaperez.bsky.social

“It was a very messed-up river,” Indiana state ecologist tells @adrianaperez.bsky.social, who notes industrial pollution remains a huge problem in a unique ecosystem near Lake Michigan.

Great reporting from @adrianaperez.bsky.social "For instance, a data center that could require 3 million gallons of water a day has been proposed in the village of Minooka near Joliet, an area that expects its groundwater supply to dry up in the next five years."

Surging number of data centers around the Great Lakes could lead to water shortages. Important story from @adrianaperez.bsky.social www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/10/g...

Confused about why you’ve been sneezing so much? Why there are so many bees and yellowjackets outdoors? Climate change is making pollen season last longer, worsening allergies and altering pollinators. For @chicagotribune.com:

The Grand Calumet River's 13 miles meander across northwest Indiana, flanked by old and new industries, such as steel mills, meatpackers and oil refineries, which dumped a noxious mix of heavy metals and chemicals into its waters before federal regulations.

'Until I get that request from that guy, I’m not going to do anything about it.' Trump says he won’t fund invasive carp barrier unless Pritzker 'asks.' But the money has already been set aside. And officials from his administration visited the project site last month. For @chicagotribune.com:

Bacteria closed hundreds of Great Lakes beaches in 2024. Here’s what you need to know before jumping into Lake Michigan. More good work from @adrianaperez.bsky.social www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/22/l...

From gray to green: Across Chicago, a @healthyschoolscampaign.org program has transformed dozens of concrete schoolyards into community hubs and flooding solutions. For @chicagotribune.com:

Trump EPA moves to eliminate landmark scientific rule that’s the basis for climate regulations. Here's what that means for Illinois. For @chicagotribune.com:

Extreme heat can pose a danger to baseball players and fans. It's also changing the physics of the game. “It seems to be pretty well-established that the 1-degree Fahrenheit (increase) is worth about 1% more home runs.” 📝 @adrianaperez.bsky.social and Kalen Lumpkins

Rush Medical Center temporarily loses air conditioning, forcing ER to go on bypass and canceled appointments. This while Chicago is under a heat advisory, with the heat index expected to peak at 102 degrees. @katweaver42.bsky.social reports:

Last year, State Farm customers in Illinois reported $638 million in hail damage, ranking the state 2nd after Texas. And damaging, golf ball-size hail will only fall more frequently because of climate change, NIU researchers warn. For @chicagotribune.com: www.chicagotribune.com/2025/07/28/d...

Extreme heat can pose a danger to baseball players and fans. It's also changing the physics of the game. “It seems to be pretty well-established that the 1-degree Fahrenheit (increase) is worth about 1% more home runs.” 📝 @adrianaperez.bsky.social and Kalen Lumpkins

Record-breaking heat indices — a combination of temperatures and humidity to determine how heat really feels to the body — are possible from Kansas City to Maine.

🧵 Chicago, PLEASE prepare yourselves for some dangerous heat and humidity 🧵 More from @adrianaperez.bsky.social and @chicagorumormill.bsky.social below.

Heat wave’s high humidity raises health risks in Chicago and across the country. Protect yourselves and each other out there this weekend. Story by @adrianaperez.bsky.social and Lily Carey www.chicagotribune.com/2025/06/20/h...

“If I were them, I would be thinking about it as a measure to mitigate political risk,” Moser said. “If a warehouse opens up down the street....they’re going to assume that the alderperson did know. They’re going to assume you’re on the take.” #HazelJohnsonCIO

Very much enjoy this story from @adrianaperez.bsky.social on how black-crowned herons have found a home nesting at Lincoln Park Zoo www.chicagotribune.com/2025/06/04/n...

A star in the Bad Bunny new album’s videography has been launched into newfound fame after years of quiet, collaborative conservation efforts including Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo: the endangered Puerto Rican crested toad, or sapo concho 🐸 More at @chicagotribune.com:

Great @adrianaperez.bsky.social read brings to mind that time as a @chicago.suntimes.com intern when I interrupted veteran reporters to ask if Gov. James R. Thompson would sign the Tully Monster Bill.

Great story from @adrianaperez.bsky.social about last week’s dust storm. A haboob is rare in Chicago. Learn more @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2025/05/20/r...

🧵 “It’s pretty rare to have dust storms in Illinois. It’s not unprecedented, but it’s uncommon. And for a dust storm to affect Chicago is even more uncommon.” 📝 @adrianaperez.bsky.social