Adriana Pérez

Tiny, raucous monk parakeets from South America thrive in Chicago. But why? Likely escapees of the exotic pet trade, the birds first put down roots in some south suburbs in the 1960s and Hyde Park in the 1970s.

Tiny, raucous monk parakeets from South America thrive in Chicago. @adrianaperez.bsky.social explains why www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/02/m...

Human composting offers an environmentally friendly end. Some are pushing to legalize it in Illinois. This green approach avoids the release of smoke from cremation and the leaking of fluids from burying embalmed bodies.

Human composting offers an environmentally friendly end. Some are pushing to legalize it in Illinois. More fascinating reporting from @adrianaperez.bsky.social www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/13/h...

Congrats to the 2026 SHERFs: Ethan Bakuli, @sarawernst.bsky.social, @celllyg.bsky.social, Anika Nayak, @adrianaperez.bsky.social & @jilliantaylor.bsky.social! They will receive training and mentoring for reporting at the intersection of science, health & the environment.

casw.org/news/meet-th...

From the Olympics in Italy to skiing the Wisconsin slopes, the race is on to adapt to warming winters Unseasonably warm temps in Italy and a reduced snowpack will require 2 million cubic yards of artificial snow to ensure consistent conditions for athletes.

From the Olympics in Italy to skiing the Wisconsin slopes, race is on to adapt to warming winters. A great story about climate change and sport, by @adrianaperez.bsky.social www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/02/f...

At one time, Illinois was a top oil producer. Today, that legacy is a $160M problem. Abandoned oil and gas wells pose environmental and public health risks. For three decades, the state has mismanaged funds earmarked for minimizing the threat.

At one time, Illinois was a top oil producer. Today, that legacy is a $160 million problem.

Very proud of this investigation for @chicagotribune.com with Jonathan Bullington, graphics by Claire Malon and photos by E. Jason Wambsgans. Gift link:

At one time, Illinois was a top oil producer. Today, that legacy is a $160M problem. Abandoned oil and gas wells pose environmental and public health risks. For three decades, the state has mismanaged funds earmarked for minimizing the threat.

"Left unplugged, some of these wells leak toxic chemicals hundreds of feet below the surface, potentially contaminating groundwater, and spit climate-warming methane gas into the atmosphere." Jonathan Bullington and @adrianaperez.bsky.social

At one time, Illinois was a top oil producer. Today, that legacy is a $160M problem. Abandoned oil and gas wells pose environmental and public health risks. For three decades, the state has mismanaged funds earmarked for minimizing the threat.

At one time, Illinois was a top oil producer. Today, that legacy is a $160M problem. Great story by Jonathan Bullington and @adrianaperez.bsky.social www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/18/i...

Bison return to Kane County after 200 years, a crucial step for conservation and Indigenous connection Citizens can help monitor the prairie and bison, and Native Americans can reconnect to their roots under a community science program.

Bison return to Kane County after 200 years, a crucial step for conservation and Indigenous connection. Come for @adrianaperez.bsky.social great story, stay for Jason Wambsgans' great photos www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/25/b...

A snowy, cold start to winter follows a very warm fall. How are Illinois seasons changing? In Chicago, fall is the second fastest-warming season after winter, and outliers, like this week’s cold, don’t lessen the impact of climate change, experts say.

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? In Chicago, fall is the second fastest-warming season after winter, and outliers, like this week’s cold, don’t lessen the impact of climate change, experts say.

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...

Illinois lawmakers urged to ‘step up’ and ‘fight like hell’ as EPA moves to cut wetlands protections New U.S. EPA rule would strip protections from 72% of the state’s remaining wetlands, which play a crucial role in mitigating flooding and filtering drinking water.

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

Illinois lawmakers urged to ‘step up’ and ‘fight like hell’ as EPA moves to cut wetlands protections New U.S. EPA rule would strip protections from 72% of the state’s remaining wetlands, which play a crucial role in mitigating flooding and filtering drinking water.

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 wetlands protections New U.S. EPA rule would strip protections from 72% of the state’s remaining wetlands, which play a crucial role in mitigating flooding and filtering drinking water.

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:

Bird flu cases are on the rise again, including 2 million turkeys. Will that affect your Thanksgiving dinner? Turkeys make up approximately 2% of the entire U.S. poultry inventory, but account for 24% of new cases in commercial and backyard flocks.

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 🦃

In hurricane-torn Jamaica, Winnetka couple’s climate-resilient breadfruit program offers food and hope After Hurricane Melissa’s exceptionally strong winds subsided, the roots of breadfruit trees clung deep into the fertile Jamaican soil — offering hope and a step toward food security in the f…

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:

Muskrats fight invasive cattails and help restore biodiversity in Great Lakes wetlands, Loyola study finds Dam-building beavers are known for changing their ecosystems; muskrats can substantially alter vegetation structure.

"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."

Muskrats fight invasive cattails and help restore biodiversity in Great Lakes wetlands, Loyola study finds Dam-building beavers are known for changing their ecosystems; muskrats can substantially alter vegetation structure.

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...

Man hospitalized after violent federal immigration arrest in Melrose Park, family says Videos shared on social media show man struggling on the ground while a federal agent keeps him in a headlock.

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:

In Chicago, immigrants who thought they were following the legal path are also facing deportation under Trump crackdown If immigrants entered the country illegally or are without granted status, attorneys say they have no protections under a second Trump administration.

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 The alleged shooting happened the same day a journalist was released after being detained by federal immigration agents while covering a protest outside the ICE facility Saturday.

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:

A protester talks to U.S. Border Patrol agents near the Newberry Library in Chicago’s Gold Coast on Sept. 28, 2025, after they walked through downtown as part of an immigration blitz show of force. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

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.