In a recent Sun-Times article headlined “Are cicadas louder this year?” one person wondered if more cicadas could be heard in Thatcher Woods, LaBagh Woods and Skokie Lagoons. The answer is yes, we do have more dog day cicadas singing this time of year compared to prior years, and they are indeed louder than usual.
As an insect ecologist who works for the Cook County Forest Preserves, I’ve been studying singing insects since 2015 with the assistance of colleagues, volunteers and Carl Strang, who wrote the book “Singing insects of the Chicago region.” I lead sound walks in the Chicago area, helping people tune their ears to the variety of insect and wildlife song around us.
Cicadas started emerging later this summer compared to prior years, likely because of early season temperatures and rain fluctuations. Think of dinner service at a popular walk-up restaurant. Customers come in waves: the after-work crowd, friends wanting to catch up, after-show audiences. If an accident snarls traffic, and no one can get there before 7 p.m., the rest of the night is a lot busier. And louder! It’s the same with the dog day cicadas. Instead of starting to emerge in July and staggering their emergence throughout the summer, a bunch arrived fashionably late. The result? More at once, setting up a raucous September dog day cicada party.
Magicicada Soundmap Project volunteers have captured dog day cicada decibel levels ranging from 60 to 70 near their homes and forest preserves. In 2024, individual dog day cicadas were drowned out by airplanes and other human noise that hung around 40 to 50 decibels.
For anyone who wants in on the fun, the forest preserves and the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology are hosting one last sound walk of the season Oct. 3. You can register online on the forest preserves’ website. Volunteers interested in monitoring cicadas next year can send a note to singinginsects@gmail.com.
Negin Almassi, Cook County Forest Preserves
Muslim pols hurdle political barriers
In her latest column, the Sun-Times’ Rummana Hussain rightly pinpointed the recent wave of “young goateed” Muslim leaders like Abdul El-Sayed and Zohran Mamdani who are subverting political norms and rattling the establishment by refusing to stay in neat little boxes.
There are moments in America when an election becomes a political crucible larger than the candidate. For Catholics, John F. Kennedy’s 1960 victory marked a turning point. His victory did not end anti-Catholic prejudice, but it shattered a barrier that had told generations of Catholics there were limits to how fully they could belong in public life. For Muslims, El-Sayed’s primary victory in Michigan’s Democratic Senate race represents a similar breakthrough.
Post-9/11, a cloud of suspicion was systematically cast on Muslims. An entire generation witnessed our faith become synonymous with extremism and national security threats. Our loyalty was questioned, our mosques were surveilled and our institutions were placed under intense scrutiny.
As Hussain noted, political opponents still reflexively use Trojan horse tropes or demand public disavowals from Muslim public figures. Having served in government on national security, I know that experience intimately. I can’t count how many times peers on both the right and left implied that my loyalty to the United States came with an asterisk. Aspiring Muslim public servants often understood that entering government came with an implicit condition: We could enter political life, but only if we weren’t too visibly Muslim or too critical of U.S. foreign policy.
Now, the political needle is moving. Rather than letting the “peanut gallery” trap him in identity politics, El-Sayed remains unshaken in his campaign messaging regarding universal healthcare, money out of politics and affordability. Just like JFK, leaders like Mamdani and El-Sayed are no longer asking permission to belong.
My generation spent much of our adult lives trying to prove we belonged. Perhaps the next generation of Muslim children in Detroit, Queens or Chicago will look at leaders like Mamdani and El-Sayed and understand there is no contradiction between being deeply Muslim and deeply American.
If El-Sayed wins in November, he will make history. But the glass ceiling has already been shattered. A new generation of American Muslims has decided it will no longer allow prejudice to determine what is possible.
Haris Tarin, vice president, Muslim Public Affairs Council
Art and AI
I understand the concerns about artificial intelligence. Human art has value. Artists deserve to be paid for their work, and I understand why they’re protective of their craft.
What I don’t understand is how people can be mean about it. I’m seeing artists and small businesses shamed, called horrendous names and excluded from creative spaces because they used AI for a logo or promotional graphic.
There’s a massive difference between a corporation replacing paid artists with AI to increase profits and a small business that needs a flyer but doesn’t have the money to commission one. That doesn’t mean they don’t value artists. It means they’re broke.
Time matters too. Finding artists, waiting for responses, discussing the project, drafts and revisions takes time. Quality takes time. But we’re also running businesses. If we can create what we need in 20 minutes using the tools available to us, sometimes that’s what we have to do.
Deciding who’s “worthy” of creating based on access, money, time or tools starts looking a whole lot like elitism and gatekeeping.
If we want people to hire human artists instead of AI, we need realistic ways to do that. My business, Forever Feral Habitat, is creating a free public directory connecting small businesses with human artists and creatives across different services, experience levels, prices and turnaround times.
If you’ve been telling people to stop using AI and hire human artists instead, help me build the alternative.
Bullying and exclusion aren’t solutions.
Raina Kubinski, owner/artist, Forever Feral Habitat, Plainfield