CHICAGO — Bird watchers had a banner week in Chicago after piping plover Sea Rocket rejoined Imani at Montrose Beach and bald eagles sightings on the South Side were confirmed.
Here’s what Block Club reporters and photographers captured while covering the city’s neighborhoods this week:
A model walks the runway at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s 2026 Capstone Fashion Show, Fashion 2026: In Medias Res on May 1, 2026. Credit: Photo by Ash Lane for Block Club Chicago
Models walk the runway at School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s 2026 Capstone Fashion Show, Fashion 2026: In Medias Res on May 1, 2026. Credit: Photo by Ash Lane for Block Club Chicago
Read more: School Of The Art Institute Fashion Showcase Gives Students Space To ‘Go Against The Grain’
People gather in Union Park for the annual May Day rally and march. Members of community groups, activists and union workers marched through Downtown streets on May 1, 2026, in Chicago, Ill. Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for Block Club Chicago
A construction worker stops to watch the annual May Day march go by a construction site on May 1, 2026, in Chicago, Ill. Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for Block Club Chicago
Read more: Thousands Take To Chicago Streets For May Day Demonstrations
A bald eagle soars over Chicago’s South Side on May 4, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
A red-winged blackbird flies around a bald eagle in Chicago’s South Side on May 4, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Read more: Baby Eaglets Are First Born In Chicago In More Than A Century, Officials Say
Chef Won Kim finishes a dish in the kitchen at Kimski in Bridgeport on Thursday April 30, 2026. Credit: Jim Vondruska for Block Club Chicago
Chef Won Kim and Kimski owner Ed Marszewski speak in the kitchen at the restaurant in Bridgeport on Thursday April 30, 2026. Credit: Jim Vondruska for Block Club Chicago
Read more: Bridgeport’s Kimski Marks 10 Years Of Uplifting Chicago’s Culinary Community
Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot and former Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. look on during the topping-out ceremony for the Bally’s Chicago Casino, 560 W. Grand Ave., in West Town on April 30, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Ald. Walter Redmond Burnett (27th) and Mayor Brandon Johnson clap as the beam is hoisted during the topping out ceremony for the Bally’s Chicago Casino, 560 W. Grand Ave., in West Town on April 30, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Read more: Bally’s Casino Hits Construction Milestone As Opening Moves To Early 2027
A driver illegally uses a protected bike lane to skirt a traffic backup on Elston Avenue near Division Street on April 29, 2026. Credit: Quinn Myers/Block Club Chicago
Read more: Goose Island Traffic ‘Like The Wild West,’ With No Immediate Relief In Sight
Imani (left) stands nearby as Sea Rocket (right) the piping plover scampers and scavenges along Lake Michigan at Montrose Beach in Uptown on May 5, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Read more: Piping Plover Couple Reunite At Montrose Beach With The Return Of Sea Rocket
Ald. Lamont Robinson (4th) joined Chatham residents Monday at a rally demanding Walgreens official keep their store open. Credit: Atavia Reed/Block Club Chicago
Read more: With Another South Side Walgreens Set To Close, Neighbors Protest ‘Corporate Abandonment’
Dannies Travis sits on the bed of her South Shore apartment on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. Credit: Jeremy Battle/Block Club Chicago
Read more: Cook County Landlords Have Filed For More Than 40,000 Evictions Since 2022
Students Hailey Buikema and Grace Banks tend to the goats at Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, 3857 W. 111th St. in Mount Greenwood on May 5, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
T.J. Cummings, special education classroom assistant, smiles as Santiago Herrera rolls out the dough for dog treats at Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, 3857 W. 111th St. in Mount Greenwood on May 5, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Read more: On The City’s Last Piece Of Farmland, Ag School Students Help Shelter Pets Find Forever Homes
Children from Beidler Elementary School play after the ribbon is cut for the Elizabeth Morse Genius Children’s Garden at the Garfield Park Conservatory and Gardens on April 30, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Read more: Check Out The Garfield Park Conservatory’s Renovated New Children’s Garden
Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon on April 30, 2026, pulled lottery cards to determine the ballot order for midterm elections in the fall. Credit: Mack Liederman/Block Club Chicago
Read more: Republicans Win Top Spot On Ballots After Libertarians Claim Lottery ‘Staged’ By Dems
People visit North Avenue Beach on Monday, May 4, 2026. Credit: Zoey Duchene/Block Club Chicago
Read more: Thunderstorms Expected Before Another Cold Front Rolls In, Forecast Says
Students customize their own lowrider bicycles at Bikes N’ Roses, 4600 W. Palmer St., in Belmont Cragin on April 23, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Erick paints as students customize their own lowrider bicycles at Bikes N’ Roses, 4600 W. Palmer St., in Belmont Cragin on April 23, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Read more: How A Custom Lowrider Bike Workshop Is Bringing Together Teens Impacted By ICE Raids
Disney II Magnet High School’s community celebrated seventh-grade English teacher Heather Debby on May 6, 2026. She was awarded at Golden Apple award for her innovative curriculum. Credit: Alex V. Hernandez/Block Club Chicago
Bronzeville Classical School Principal Nicole Spicer gives an acceptance speech after winning the Golden Apple Award May 6, 2026. Credit: Jamie Nesbitt Golden / Block Club Chicago
Members of the Leo High School celebrate as Principal Shaka Rawls is awarded the Golden Apple Award in Auburn Gresham on May 4, 2026. Credit: Maia McDonald for Block Club Chicago
Read more: Disney II English Teacher Wins Golden Apple Award For Personalized Approach To Learning
Read more: This Bronzeville Principal Went From Golden Apple Scholar To Golden Apple Winner
Read more: Leo High School Principal Wins Golden Apple Award For Leading High School He Once Attended
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