Hey, I'm Curious City reporter Monica Eng. And like a lot of you out there, I've already started my summer veggie garden. I've got tomatoes, peas, peppers, spinach, kale, chard, and herbs because I love homegrown produce. And so does Ivan Agnitho Adams. She's got this big backyard garden at her home in West Suburban Lombard.

We have about 100 square feet of zucchini, different kinds of lettuces, green beans, and, of course, our tomatoes and cucumbers.

But every fall, she's forced to harvest a pile of green tomatoes that haven't had a chance to ripen yet.

Because, you know, our weather turns cold by October.

Literally, we had like a basket full.

And I was like, I can't eat that many fried green tomatoes because I will turn into a fried green tomato.

So last year, we did a story answering a question from Yvonne.

She wanted to know if there was an easy and affordable way to extend the growing season around here.

And actually, we did find one really good option.

It's called a hoop house, and it's like a big temporary greenhouse covered in clear plastic.

But we also found out there are some places in Illinois that don't allow hoop houses, places like

Elmhurst, where one gardener, Nicole Virgil, has been locked in a fight with city officials

over her use of one for years. And one person who's been trying to help Nicole,

State Representative Sonia Harbor, thinks that some of the pushback from Elmhurst could be

about race. See, Nicole is black in a suburb that's 89% white. I can't say for sure, but when

you are a black woman, one can only assume that or maybe even have those thoughts.

So after we finished our story last year, we kept checking back with Nicole.

Because you know what? She didn't give up her fight for hoop houses in Elmhurst.

Instead, she took her mission to Springfield. And after two years

of trying to convince lawmakers to help her, she finally got an answer. I still don't think it

quite feels real. I'm still numb a little bit. So on today's episode, we're going to follow

her journey and that resistance Nicole faced. That's coming up.

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