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wicker park's rat birth control program is working. special service area no. 33 has been placing rat birth control in alleys along commercial corridors in wicker park and bucktown for the past year. early results show the program is reducing the rodent population without poison. it's now set to expand. chicago has long held the top spot on orkin's rattiest city list — though last year it slid to second behind los angeles. this may be the most quietly revolutionary thing happening in the city right now.

ann sather is closing on belmont after 81 years because a new apartment building needs the lot. the restaurant — the one with the cinnamon rolls, the one that has outlasted every trend in lakeview — is being forced out of its 909 W. Belmont location. a proposed apartment development on the block initially spared the building but now construction requires demolition. owners say they're looking for a new spot in lakeview. they haven't said where.

mayor johnson is vetoing the tipped wage freeze today at a restaurant on 67th street. the city council voted 30-18 last week to freeze the tipped minimum wage at $12.62 an hour. johnson called the vote "shameful" and announced the veto at let's eat to live at 621 E. 67th St. the override requires 34 votes. the council has 30. the math is tight but not impossible.

the arlington heights mayor says springfield has two weeks to get the bears stadium deal done. mayor jim tinaglia told CBS that "no one at halas hall wants to wait till the end of may." the bill would let the bears — or any developer investing more than $500 million — negotiate property taxes with local governments for up to 40 years. governor pritzker said the deal needs to happen "sooner rather than later." indiana already signed its own billion-dollar stadium bill to lure the team to hammond. illinois is counter-programming with urgency and acronyms. the bears have committed to neither.

dupage county just approved $4.8 million for food pantries because food insecurity is up 64 percent. the county board voted tuesday to fund three programs: $2.5 million to loaves & fishes to expand the aurora food distribution hub from 30,000 to 62,000 square feet, $2 million to northern illinois food bank for wholesale food purchases including fresh produce, and $322,000 to the conservation foundation's farm to pantry program for a refrigerated truck and a new greenhouse. board chair deborah conroy said more families in dupage are struggling to put food on the table. the numbers agree with her.

evanston's city council is split on what to do with the library. some alders want a full city takeover. others want a new intergovernmental agreement. the library has been a recurring point of contention and the council appears no closer to consensus. this is the kind of municipal governance story that would be boring in any other suburb but in evanston it's basically a genre.

the city clerk's office is running city sticker amnesty month through april 30. if you've been driving around chicago without a current vehicle sticker or you owe late fees on a previous one, this is the window where they waive the penalties. after april 30 it goes back to full fines. the online portal is open now and takes about four minutes.

eat: creepies in the west loop. david and anna posey — the elske people — opened a parisian neo-bistro at 1360 W. Randolph with chef tayler ploshehanski running the kitchen. midwestern ingredients, french technique, and a room designed to feel like a lynchian old chicago tavern. go on a weeknight.

do: the chicago palestine film festival is in its 25th year and this is the biggest lineup yet — more than 50 films. screenings are running through april 28 at venues across the city. you'll see something you won't find on any streaming service.

avoid: the bishop ford freeway. IDOT just started a major rehab of I-94 through chicago's south side and south suburbs — dolton, burnham, riverdale, calumet city, south holland. lane and ramp closures are already up and will last through december, then pick back up spring 2027. about 167,000 vehicles use it daily. if you commute on the bishop ford, start building in an extra 20 minutes now before it becomes muscle memory.

hey — if you’d like to put your business in front of the readers of this very email, reply with a little about what you do. small, weird, or local: we like all three.

the bunny trolley hop at the illinois railway museum in union is this saturday. kids ride a historic trolley to meet the easter bunny in a carrot coach. the museum runs it march 28, 29, and april 4. gates open at 9:15 a.m. there are also streetcar rides between attractions across the museum campus. tickets sell fast so check the site now.

chicago is hemorrhaging breweries and block club just wrote about why. the city has lost a wave of craft breweries in recent months — closures, consolidations, quiet exits. the piece looks at what's driving it: rising costs, shifting consumer habits, post-pandemic economics, and the question of whether diversification or merging is the only way to survive. if you drink local beer and like knowing what's happening to the places that make it, this is your read.

the chicago tribune just launched "chicago 2050" — a series of essays imagining what the city should look like in 25 years. the first piece is by mary schmich. the series is a collaboration between tribune opinion and world business chicago's horizon lines initiative. it publishes every sunday through may 10. the essays are not policy papers or wish lists. they're writers and thinkers from across the city trying to say something honest about where chicago is headed and whether anyone is steering. if you've ever stared at a vacant lot or a new high-rise and wondered what this place is becoming, this is your read for the week.

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ann sather is looking for a new home.
the rats are on the pill.
and the weather is about to remind you where you live.

tips, corrections, your best ann sather memory?

reply with your neighborhood and one thing that made you pause, squint, or text someone “???”

talk next tuesday.

-sam