News

Photo by efroten
• Eight people were hurt, some seriously but none life-threatening, in a multiple car accident on the Northwest Side this morning that involved a Fire Department ambulance
• Internet muckraker Matt Drudge is reporting that representatives from three newspapers that have endorsed McCain are being booted from the Obama campaign pool. Some reports are that room is being made for documentary filmmakers or for major television reporters.
• Test results were revealed today for the state's schools. Both the Trib and the Sun-Times have rundowns of the report.

A reader close to the case has written in to tell us that it appears indicted Northbrook art dealer James Kennedy is on the run from Johnny Law. Kennedy was originally indicted for art forgery and threatening a federal witness in the case and it seems Kennedy didn't show up for his bond hearing in Federal court on Wednesday. It was later discovered he also tried to flee the country into Canada later that day; he was stopped but still released. Huh. Anyway, he's still on the run and a new warrant has apparently been issued for his arrest. We talked to Chicago FBI office and they had no record of the warrant but said it could have been issued by another law enforcement group, i.e., the U.S. Marshals. more ›

We thought we were going to make it through the afternoon without any bad news, but unfortunately that's not the case. Chicago legend Louis "Studs" Terkel passed away today at his home here in Chicago at the age of 96. more ›

There’s been speculation about who would be picked for top federal positions if Sen. Barack Obama were elected (Ald. Joe “Foie Gras” Moore for Attorney General?), and one of the possible selections has Mayor Daley worried. The Sun-Times reported yesterday that the mayor wants Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan to stay put and not take a seat in Obama’s cabinet. The presidential candidate previously consulted with Duncan on a campaign plan for public education. Assuming Obama wins and picks Duncan, Daley says he won’t give Duncan a recommendation. Oh snap! more ›

Apparently the Cubs' post-season collapse had nothing to do with inconsistent pitching, a tattered bullpen, or an impotent offense. Rather, it can apparently be blamed on Jimmy Burroughs' new Cubs tattoo that has a pro-Cardinals sentiment in it. Burroughs stopped by American Rebel Tattoo Studios in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee where he got the tattoo (pictured right). Tattoo artist Deke Rivers wrote "Go Cards" as a joke and Burroughs laughed along, eventually asking Rivers to color it in, but the message remained visible. Instead of getting the tattoo fixed, though, Burroughs left it as is because the Cubs went on a hot streak. But now that the Cubs have crapped the bed, the superstitious Burroughs plans on getting the tattoo fixed. "I pretty much blame the tattoo for the Cubs losing. It kills me to have a tattoo that says 'Go Cards.'" Fortunately for Burroughs, he's also a child therapist which will surely help him deal with his masochistic tendencies. [via Fark] more ›

Yeah, we're not looking forward to pushing against the massive rush of folks hoofing it to Grant Park Tuesday afternoon and evening in hopes basking in the glow of Obama (the glObama, as it were). So we perked up when we heard that the Building Owners and Managers Association in Chicago had asked businesses in the Loop to close early! And then our shoulders slumped when we realized that probably just wasn't going to happen. more ›

Now that Early Voting Season has come to a close in Illinois, they've counted up the ballots, and a metric shitload of people turned out to make their mark. (Just the ballots have been counted - the actual votes won't be counted 'til election day.) ABC-7 reports that nearly half a million in Indiana, another half-million voters in Cook County, and about 285,000 in the collar counties all voted early, resulting in lines that had wait times of two hours in some cases. And we thought our ten minute wait was surprising a few weeks ago. more ›

That cut in the gas surcharge has enraged the city's cabbies to the point they've threatened a strike unless Mayor Daley enacts a proposed 16 percent fare hike, tentatively scheduled to go into effect next spring, by January 1, 2009. They've given the Mayor a two-week deadline. United Taxidrivers Community Council chairman Fayez Khozindar said, "We refuse to be subjected to this roller coaster. We are not beggars. We need a permanent fare increase — 16 percent on the meter. If the city will not treat its ambassadors decently, then we'll act ourselves and paralyze the city one day, two days or three days. We’ll do it when it’s successful for us. It will be a surprise for the city." Yeah, guys, strong arm Mayor Daley; we're sure he'll love that. more ›

Police say forensic tests have confirmed that the .45-caliber Sig-Sauer semiautomatic pistol recovered earlier this week is indeed the weapon used in the shootings of Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother, and nephew. ATF officers tracked the gun to its original owner in Michigan who reported it stolen. more ›

There may never be a presidential race quite like the current one (proof enough), but don’t let that fool you into blowing off important local races (and yes, voting for judges is important so don’t even take the easy way out by voting “no” for all of them). The long list of candidates and offices, some of which you may never have heard of, can be intimidating, but we at Chicagoist have come up with a quick guide highlighting some of the important races. We've also included other resources that might come in handy on Election Day, which should just happen already. more ›

Remember when you were a kid, and one day one of your classmates would hand out invitations to his or her birthday party, except they didn't give you one and you felt like such a tool for being left out? No? That was only me? Well, fine. But at least Governor Blagojevich knows how I feel. It seems that his name is not on the long list of VIP guests for next Tuesday night's Obamapalooza. Sure, there's Lisa Madigan, Emil Jones, Jesse Jr., and, naturally, Mayor Daley. But no Blago. Can't say we're surprised, what with indictments and convictions on every side of G-Rod. Still, it's gotta smart to be lumped in with the likes of Rev. Wright. Of course, I'm sure Sen. Obama's leaving me off that list was simply an oversight and I'll be getting my invitation in the mail today. Of course. That's all it is: slow mail. Yep. Has to be. more ›

The Chicago Fire played the New England Revolution to a draw in the opener of their two-game aggregate playoff series last night 0-0. Both teams struggled to get much offense going throughout the physical match that saw 22 fouls and five yellow cards. The Fire mustered five shots on goal (Cuauhtemoc Blanco led the Fire with two) while goalie Jon Busch stopped all four New England shots on goal. more ›

There haven't been any new major breaks, but some details in connection to the high-profile triple homicide which has come to be a tragic symbol of Chicago's violent year have steadily been streaming out. more ›

David Sidener of Indiana has been charged with first degree murder in the October 15killing of Randall Hilderbrand, the manager of Lucca's Restaurant on Southport. The killing shocked the West Lakeview community where it happened. Hilderbrand's body was discovered by an exterminator. While police haven't released more details, they have said that Sidener was a "known acquaintance" of Hilderbrand's and that money was taken from the restaurant after the murder. Sidener will appear in Violence Court later today. more ›

Photo by BrianHagy
• The Blago probe has another victim: William Cellini, who was indicted by a Federal grand jury today for planning to extort Hollywood producer Thomas Rosenberg for money for the Blago campaign.
• Two people were severely injured in a fire after an explosion at Gigi's Restaurant in Naperville last night.
• Cook County Board President Todd Stroger promises his new spending plan, introduced next month, won't include any new taxes.

Still smarting from the mess of the "Egg War of 2006," residents hope a recent crackdown of selling eggs to youths before and on Halloween in the Howard Street area, marking the border between Evanston and Chicago, will help to keep similar messes at bay. The move was spearheaded by Evanston Ald. Ann Rainey (8th). She said, referring to the 2006 incident, "It was a disaster. Given the world situation, calling throwing eggs a disaster might sound like a stretch, but some people had to spend $1,000 to clean up the mess." Last year was pretty successful, save for a few stores that sold to youths anyway, stores that have since been warned. Most grocers have been supportive of the decision. Yourash Matti, of Leon's Liquor and Grocery, said, "I don't sell at Halloween now to kids any age. This is not a joke, really. From tomorrow, no eggs in my store." more ›

Hockey's been pretty much off our sports radar for the past few years. Between the sour taste left by the lockout a few years back and our general hatred of how Bill Wirtz ran his team, we passed our time during the cold Chicago winters exclusively with the Bulls. Given the anemic attendance numbers at the UC for Hawks games, we clearly weren't the only ones -- it's not like the fans were instead watching on TV at home. But with the end of the Bill Wirtz era and an exciting young roster, we've thought about giving hockey another chance. more ›

Anyone that takes the Chicago Avenue bus Eastward has learned that service has been seriously jacked since a barge ran into the Chicago Avenue Bridge last Tuesday. Well, while relief is in sight, it ain't coming until halfway through next week, so you might want to pad an extra hour or so into your commuting times until then. [Trib] more ›

Well, this is interesting. Even as the Obama campaign has limited the number of tickets and is focusing on security concerns, our benevolent mayor has invited any- and everyone down to Grant Park next Tuesday night, tickets be damned! more ›

images for his Republican themed cooking show (yeah, we don't get it either), "What's COOKin' With the Republicans!" And now, Peraica has taken to having a van drive around and bug the shit out of everybody. more ›

It seems there's trouble brewing for Mr. Trump's new hotel, the supposed new "jewel" of the Chicago skyline. According to the Wall Street Journal:

So far, Mr. Trump has lined up buyers for a bit less than $600 million of condo units and condo-hotel units in a residential market that has virtually seized up. Yet he owes lenders as much as $1 billion when the loans are due, according to public records and several people familiar with the project. He has closed around $200 million in sales so far, with roughly $380 million still in contract. The retail portion of the giant building is for sale, at a time of rising vacancies for retail space in Chicago and one of the worst eras for retailers in years.

Don't forget -- today is the last day to vote early. The polls close at 5 p.m. this evening and the Board of Elections site says, "the LEAST BUSY Early Voting sites so far have been the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 22nd, 25th, 26th, 27th, 30th, 31st, and 32nd Ward sites." Addresses are here. more ›

The Sun-Times had a nice semi-overhead shot of the rally site in yesterday's paper, but we figured we'd go check out the rally site from locations that will look more familiar to any of the estimated million-plus people that are going to show up to Hutchinson Field in a little under a week. more ›

We're mercifully just a few days from this historic election and things are heating up...even more than before. Last night, the Obama campaign aired their half-hour infomercial across several networks (except ABC, suckas!). The program was documentary style (i.e., no pie charts a la Perot) and featured Obama with voters and outlining his proposed policies. Really, it was nothing new to anyone who's followed the campaign. Later in the evening, Obama also made an appearance on The Daily Show. more ›

We're six days from Election Day and we're finally starting to get some of the details nailed down as the City Parks District released the permit application for the event. They include: more ›

The gun found yesterday in an alley a block from where the body of murdered 7-year-old Julian King was discovered matches the caliber of gun (.45) used in the murders of Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother, and nephew, based on comparisons with shell casings found at the murder scene. A witness reported seeing a white vehicle drive through the alley and dump something. Still, police are remaining cautious since the area has high gang activity and consider it unlikely a suspect would drop a murder weapon so close to a crime scene. more ›

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart announced that a new first-degree murder charge has been filed in the 1980 death of Edwin Gulbransen, then 11-years-old. Originally, Ronald Rice had been charged with the accidental hit-and-run death of Edwin, who had been missing for four days and whose body was found in a forest preserve. Rice then came forward and claimed he had accidentally hit Edwin with his car and dumped the body after panicking; Rice served six months for the accident. The new charges, however, allege that it was no accident, but that Rice hit Edwin on purpose, kidnapped him, sexually assaulted him, and then killed him. Good Lord. Because there's obviously not enough heinous news of bad things happening to children recently. Rice is currently serving a 60-year sentence stemming from a 1982 sexual assault of another boy. more ›

Police recovered a handgun in a search of an alley near the area where the body of 7-year-old Julian King was found in a white SUV. Autopsy results have found that all three victims were shot with a .45 caliber gun; officials haven't said what caliber the discovered gun is. more ›

If Illinois Senator Barack Obama is elected President next week, then someone will have to fill his shoes in the U.S. Senate and recent speculation has centered around Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. getting the nod from Governor Blagojevich and then Jackson's wife Sandy taking his congressional seat. Jackson dismissed the speculation and said his current focus is on getting Obama elected. more ›

Good grief, people. After this week's hanging of a Sarah Palin effigy in West Hollywood comes word that an effigy of Barack Obama was found this morning on the campus of the University of Kentucky. The Secret Service claimed the Palin effigy was okay because it was part of a Halloween decoration. Um, no. An effigy is defined as "a crude figure representing a hated person." So it's kind of not okay. As for the Obama effigy, U of K President Lee Todd said he was, "personally offended and deeply embarrassed by this disgusting episode." There was also an effigy of Obama found on the campus of Oregon school George Fox University in September. more ›

Our condolences to the family of Bartlett's Sgt. Kevin Grieco, 35, who was one of two soldiers killed by a suicide bomb Monday in in Baghlan, Afghanistan. Sgt. Grieco was part of the 2nd Battalion, 122nd Field Artillery, Illinois Army National Guard, Sycamore. It was that unit's third death this fall. Kevin is survived by his wife and two young children. more ›

In the wake of both the news that Chicago is tops in murder and the high profile triple homicide involving family members of Oscar-winning actress and Chicago native Jennifer Hudson, Mayor Daley took to the city's defense, saying he's "not proud" of Chicago's new #1 status and claiming that nothing could have been done to prevent the Hudson murders.

"We’re not proud of it. But, you don’t hide it. You don’t take the statistics, all the facts and say it didn’t happen. It happens,” Daley said, apparently referring to past attempts to re-classify homicides to hold down the murder rate. more ›

As if the delays and congestion situation at O'Hare weren't bad enough, they could get even worse Friday as the FAA-instituted cap on flights ends. The cap limits the number of flights per hour between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. to 88 but is being lifted by the FAA thanks to the economic struggles of the airline industry. Of course, even with fewer flights O'Hare is still one of the worst airports in the nation for on-time arrivals and departures. U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters will be in town to look for other solutions to fixing O'Hare's woes. I bet she totally flies in to Midway. more ›

Damn! We thought Shawn Kemp was the poster child for the NBA needing to provide sex ed for its players, but former Bulls forward Jason Caffey has been even more prolific with his penis than Kemp was. Having fathered 10 kids with eight different women (Kemp has seven), Caffey recently filed for bankruptcy. On Tuesday, however, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Margaret A. Mahoney tossed Caffey's bankruptcy case, which clears the way for the women to sue the former basketball player for over $200,000 in back child support and legal expenses. more ›

In the wake of the ACORN debacle, voter registration is coming under more scrutiny than ever before. And now the Illinois and Lake County Republican Party have filed suit against Clerk Willard Helander, Citizen Action/Illinois and Terrance LeNoir over allegations of voter registration improprieties in Lake County. The suit, which seeks an emergency injunction, claims that LeNoir, working on behalf of Citizen Action/Illinois, "delivered hundreds of 'fraudulent, incomplete or illegitimate' voter registrations." Citizen Action/Illinois has denied any wrongdoing. more ›

Ticket information for the 2009 NHL Winter Classic between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field on New Years Day has been sent to season ticket holders. There are three tiers of ticket prices: $75, $225, and $325. The NHL expects to sell around 41,000 tickets. Information for non-season ticket holders will be announced no later than Monday. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said:

This game is going to be sold out. Most of the tickets, not all, will be going to season ticket-holders of the Blackhawks. They are our first priority and the Blackhawks' first priority. We're not going to have the massive public sale like you did when we were playing in a 72,000-seat facility. Some tickets will be made available to the public but if you want to be assured, you have to get season tickets...I think it was an absolute highlight last year [in Buffalo] and we're expecting it to be terrific again being in an iconic venue like Wrigley Field. It has the history and tradition.

Bulls Top Bucks In Opener more ›

Tragedy strikes in a Chicago home leaving 3 people dead and an Oscar winner forced to identify the bodies of her family. Jennifer Hudson’s mother and brother were gunned down in their home Friday. Could an invaluable device have saved their lives? It’s called The BackUp and it is a bedside shotgun rack. more ›

A crash between a cab and a car sent the cab careening into the Starbucks at North Ave. and Wells St. early this morning. Each car only had a driver and no pedestrians were hurt. Both drivers were being treated for injuries at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, but neither were believed to be serious. more ›

As police try to piece together what happened Friday in the triple homicide that claimed the lives of actress Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother, and 7-year-old nephew, some evidence points to multiple perps involved in the killings. It appears as if someone may have driven suspect William Balfour back to the West Side the afternoon after the murders, possibly with Julian King in tow.

Witnesses said Balfour drove his teal Chrysler to the Hudsons' block Friday, arriving about 7 a.m. But later the vehicle was discovered by police parked about a mile away outside Robeson High School. Balfour's girlfriend told police that he was at her West Side home not long after the slayings of Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, and the Oscar-winning actress' brother, Jason, at their Englewood home, sources said... more ›

While one former Chicago Bear defensive great has ascended to a head coaching spot, another has found himself battling a disease that has threatened his life and left him confined to a wheelchair. The Trib's Fred Mitchell caught up with William "The Refrigerator" Perry, who suffers from Guillain-Barré syndrome, a condition in which, "the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system." Perry told Mitchell, "I'm walking a little bit and rehabbing and doing what I'm supposed to. Tell everybody that I'm doing a whole lot better. It just takes time. I hope to be up and about in a walker real soon." Perry now resides in Aiken, South Carolina. more ›

Now that security has been hired, we can go about looking at some of the details about Obama's Election Night rally in Grant Park. Emails are being sent out gradually to supporters directing them to this site where they can apply for tickets (at a limit of one per applicant). more ›

Word comes this afternoon that the Cook County Medical Examiner has unsurprisingly yet officially ruled Julian King's death a homicide. From the press release: "'The cause of death is multiple gunshot wounds, and the manner of death is a homicide,' said Sean Howard, a spokesperson for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office." Also, the AP reported suspect William Balfour had been arrested in June on drug charges but didn't have his parole revoked. Balfour also missed a meeting with his parole officers the day of the murders. more ›

As if you haven't quite reached an overload of election stories yet, Jakks Pacific Inc. has announced that Cabbage Patch Kid likenesses have been made of the 2008 Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates. We won't complain too much: the dolls will be auctioned off on Ebay with all proceeds benefiting the U.S. Marine Corp's Toys for Tots. The auction starts October 30th and continues until Election Day. Still, the image that landed in the Chicagoist inbox this morning kind of shocked us. more ›

Going to Sen. Barack Obama’s election night rally in Grant Park? Well, Chicago officials say Neil Sullivan’s got your back. The retired security expert is getting paid $100 an hour, with a $60,000 cap, to make sure no one raises the roof too high. Sullivan previously worked with the city by revising its emergency and evacuation plans, which hopefully weren’t the same plans used in The Dark Knight (yes, everyone exit the city on Michigan Ave. while cons are bused to Navy Pier). Sullivan was originally hired in the event that the Cubs and the Sox made it to the playoffs and possibly the World Series (HA!). Since that dream didn’t come true, city officials gave him the Obama rally. more ›

The current financial crisis has reached a point to where even local colleges are beginning to feel the crunch. As more students are in need of financial assistance, the schools are dealing with shrinking endowments. With these endowments, which fund up to a quarter of the schools costs, bringing in smaller returns, the schools are having to rework budgets.

"Everyone's feeling pressure," says Will McLean, Northwestern's chief investment officer. The university's $7.2-billion endowment, which funds almost 20% of school operations, produced returns of 3% during the 12 months ended in August, compared with 22% in the year-earlier period. more ›

With gas prices finally coming down, the $1 surcharge added in April to help alleviate the financial pressure on cab drivers will be reduced to $0.50 per ride on Friday. The way the surcharge is set up, passengers pay $0.50 a ride if the local price per gallon of gas is at or above $2.70 and $1 if the price is at or above $3.20. Cabs are required to post a placard informing riders of the surcharge; the city began sending out new placards for the new surcharge last week. Locally, the average price of gas is at $3.01 a gallon as opposed to $4.01 a month ago, but still above the $2.89 per gallon price from this time last year. Earlier this fall, cab drivers asked for a fare increase and their wish was granted in the form of a 16 percent fare hike which takes effect sometime early next year. more ›

It's been one year since the disappearance of Bolingbrook's Stacy Peterson and her estranged husband, Drew Peterson, took to The Today Show to maintain his innocence and to ask Stacy to, "Show yourself. Put an end to this nightmare." Of course, he doesn't expect her to reappear, as he told the AP: “If I was a little girl and the focus of all this media attention, I wouldn't be coming back. Why would a little girl come back to that?” While Drew makes media appearances, Stacy's family will be marking the anniversary with a candlelight vigil. After Stacy's disappearance, police went back and, after further investigation, reclassified the death of Kathleen Savio, Peterson's third wife, from accidental drowning to murder, adding to the intense scrutiny on Peterson. Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow announced last week that he expected, "a resolution in at least one of these investigations in the near future," a charge Peterson and his lawyer have dismissed as a mere play for votes in next week's election. more ›

A year ago, many -- us included -- believed the Bulls were on the verge of competing for the Eastern Conference title, even if it wasn't quite yet time to reserve Grant Park for any rallies. The young Bulls team fell flat on their face and cost Scott Skiles his job on the way to a 33-49 record, missing the playoffs after three consecutive appearances. Tonight, they open the 2008-2009 season at the United Center against the Milwaukee Bucks and their new head coach, Scott Skiles. more ›

For the third time in three days, Chicago native and Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson identified a murder victim as a family member. This time, it was her 7-year-old nephew Julian King, telling the medical examiner, "Yes, that's him." As of this morning, William Balfour remains in police custody, and while he has not been charged, he seems to remain the primary suspect in the case. Police report William had been answering questions but stopped cooperating when offered a lie-detector test. His MySpace page declares him husband to Julia and step-father to Julian, and police are still looking at the crime as the culmination of an ongoing domestic dispute over a car.

In another incident, sources said, Julia Hudson arrived Friday morning at Sunrise Bus Co. on payday and discovered her wages had been garnished because of unpaid car payments. Sources said Balfour had taken her car months earlier but promised to make the payments on the vehicle. After seeing her pay stub, Julia Hudson called Balfour to complain about the unpaid bills, sources said.

It looks like more people are tattle-telling on Cook County employees. The Sun-Times reports that investigations into misconduct by county employees have spiked this year, with 44 new investigations between July and September. There were only eight new investigations during that same time last year. Joseph Price, the county's former inspector general who was replaced this month, began a total of 91 new investigations so far this year. more ›

The Trib is reporting sources say that the boy found in the white SUV this morning, believed to be missing 7-year-old Julian King, was killed by a gunshot wound. The Hudson family was to identify the body this afternoon, and CPD Superintendent Jody Weis will be holding a press conference at 4 p.m. today. Also of note, the Amber Alert for Julian is no longer active. more ›

We know nothing beyond what the Trib has...which isn't much. We'll have to see how serious this threat was or if it is in the same vein as those Colorado meth heads from earlier this year. more ›

Everyone gets rejected by a member of the opposite sex eventually; we've all been there. But there's accepting rejection gracefully and there's being a sore loser. And then there's this: a Wisconsin man has been charged with criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct related to domestic violence after he urinated on his roommate's dog because she (um, the roommate, not the dog) rejected his sexual advances. This never happened on Three's Company. more ›

In a move that surprised absolutely no one, former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge pled not guilty this morning to charges of obstruction of justice and perjury in connection to alleged cases of police torture. May 11 was set as the trial date by U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow. Mayor Daley has yet to issue any statement on this latest development, sassy or otherwise, but we can save you the time and boil it down to this ahead of time: "It wasn't my fault!" more ›

Hey, kids. Don't forget that early voting continues through this Thursday, October 30. Check out the list of early voting locations and hit 'em up. Chicagoans are turning to the polls early in record numbers, so why not do what all the cool kids are doing? more ›

Cubs slugger Aramis Ramirez was announced as the N.L. winner of the Hank Aaron Award shortly before Game Four of the World Series on Sunday night. Partly voted on by the fans, the award recognizes each league's best offensive performer. Ramirez finished 2008 with a .297 averag, 27 homers, and 111 RBI's. Congrats, Aramis, but you know what would have been better than winning an award Sunday night? Playing in the game Sunday night. Not that we're bitter or anything.... more ›

The body of a boy was found in a vehicle on the West Side this morning. Police are investigating whether or not the body is that of missing 7-year-old Julian King. The body was discovered in the 1300 block of S. Kolin at around 8:00 a.m. Yesterday, actress and Chicago native Jennifer Hudson, whose mother and brother were shot to death on the South Side Friday, offered a $100,000 reward for finding Julian. Police still have suspect William Balfour in custody. more ›

Blackhawks Drop Shoot-Out To Red Wings more ›

As the search continues for missing 7-year-old Julian King, his family has taken to the media to plea for his safe return. In an appearance at a South Side Church, his mother Julia said:

I don't care who you are, just let my baby go. I just want my son back. He doesn't deserve this...I have to believe that he’s OK. I have that hope that he’s OK, I have that faith that he’s OK...He’s not your typical 7-year-old.He doesn’t want to go outside, he doesn’t want to play. He’d rather stay at home and read a book or do some schoolwork or be with his relatives. That’s all Julian wants...I know he’s out there. Just let him go. Put him on the side of the street. He’ll sit there.

City firefighters and paramedics have been asked to take home their gear so they can speed deployment during any emergency that might occur during the election night Obama rally in Grant Park. The order begins next Wednesday, and continues through until two days after the election. more ›

Chicago police have asked the FBI to assist them in finding Jennifer Hudson's nephew, 7-year-old Julian King. King has not been seen since the murder of his uncle and grandmother yesterday. The FBI was called in as it's believed the boy may have been transported across state lines. more ›

Police are questioning a man suspected of killing the mother and brother of singer-actress Jennifer Hudson in an Englewood home. The Chicago Police are also searching for Hudson's 7-year-old nephew, who is missing since another relative went by the house and found the bodies of Darnell Donerson, 57, and Jason Hudson, 29, yesterday afternoon. more ›

Citing the inability to pay for a private attorney and the lengthy delays that can occur when using a public defender, suspect Reginald Potts, Jr. has decided to represent himself in the murder trial of Nailah Franklin. Potts has been accused of murdering Frankin -- his ex-girlfriend -- and dumping her body in a Calumet City forest preserve. Potts has maintained his innocence since his arrest. He stated that this innocence is what gave him the confidence to be his own attorney, saying he "believed the truth would win out." more ›

Today dawns cloudy and cool with a few lingering showers in the morning before the clouds break a bit and maybe Mr. Sun gives us a peek or two this afternoon with highs in the mid 50s. Partly cloudy skies hover overhead tonight as temps dip into the upper 30s. more ›

Following up on the earlier mention in "Extra, Extra," it seems that the two victims of the double homicide on the South Side were the mother and brother of actress/singer Jennifer Hudson and a child, possibly Hudson's nephew Julian King (left), was missing; an Amber Alert has been issued. While police have not officially named the victims yet, the house where the bodies were found (the 7000 block of South Yale Avenue) belongs to Hudson's mother, Darnell Donnerson, and while the Trib is holding off on identifying the victims, the Sun-Times is quoting law enforcement sources in naming the victims as Donnerson and Hudson's brother, Jason. According to her bodyguard, Hudson was not involved in the incident. more ›

If she didn't already have enough problems, Keifer Bonvillian, arrested in 2006 for attempting to extort money from Harpo, is suing the Oprah camp for defamation to the tune of $180 million. Bonvillian allegedly recorded phone conversations with a Harpo employee, then sweet talked another staffer into agreeing to pay him $1.5 million to prevent him from publishing a book based on the material. Though the charges were dismissed, Bonvillian is now claiming that Oprah and one of her attorneys made false statements leading to his arrest. Our favorite part is Bonvillian's claim that "There was substantial damage done to my name and reputation on a world level...The extent of my damages is vast." Delusions of grandeur, much? [MSN] more ›

We'll hand it to Blago - he doesn't blink in the face of heavy criticism. When asked to respond to yesterday's Trib poll that found only 13 percent of those polled approved of the job he's doing, the Governor simply responded that if he were up for reelection on November 4th, he'd "win by 10 points or better." Sure, if his opponent were Emperor Palpatine, and even then we still think it'd be closer. Blago also said he didn't think he's done anything to garner such low ratings. Nope, nothing at all. more ›

Bomb-sniffing dogs made an appearance at Lockport Township High School's East Campus yesterday after a custodian reported a bomb threat message written on a bathroom wall. Authorities found no evidence of suspicious activity, but took extra precautions this morning as classes resumed. A rash of bomb threats erupted at my high school in Pittsburgh back in the late 90s, and they practically turned into a joke. Fire drills out, bomb threats in. Not surprisingly, the source of the anarchy was a student who found it an effective way of getting out of tests. We applaud the Lockport police for taking this issue seriously, but it's time to enlist Encyclopedia Brown since he's already on the inside-job beat. [STS] more ›

Approximately 120 tons of road salt (also known as a "shit-ton") has gone missing from an Aurora storage facility since October 1. The total value of the stolen salt comes out to around $32,000.

The police report noted how difficult the theft would have been from a locked facility. Twelve large concrete blocks and a tarp had to be moved to take the salt, which likely would have been moved by truck, police said. more ›

In Wednesday's preseason tune-up leading up to their regular season opener next week, Bulls guard Larry Hughes suffered a dislocated shoulder. In the third quarter, Hughes collided with Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Mike Miller while chasing after a loose ball and slumped to the floor in pain. more ›

As Election Day comes ever closer, the Trib managed to catch-up with the elusive GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin who hasn't given many interviews, especially since the Katie Couric debacle. During the interview, Palin addressed the controversy over her alleged $150,000 wardrobe upgrade and even compared herself to Hillary Clinton.

I think Hillary Clinton was held to a different standard in her primary race. Do you remember the conversations that took place about her - say superficial things that they don't talk about with men, like her wardrobe and her hairstyles, all of that, that's a bit of that double standard. Certainly there's a double standard. But I'm not going to complain about it, I'm not going to whine about it, I'm going to plow through that because we are embarking on something greater than that, than allowing that double standard to adversely affect us.

We're third in population, but first in murders. For the first time in 10 years, Chicago has surpassed New York City in murders (and L.A. to boot). As of Tuesday, Chicago has had 426 murders so far in 2008 compared to 417 for New York City and 302 for L.A. Just more trouble for embattled Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis who will appear before the City Council today to discuss budget issues for the CPD. Chicago is on pace to top 500 murders for the year, which is still short of the bloody 1998 when the total was around 700. more ›

Mayor Daley yesterday did what he does best: ruffle feathers. MayDay got all sassy in terms of offering an apology to torture victims in the Burge case. Well, late yesterday afternoon, the Mayor's spokesperson issued something of an apology for the "apology."

Mayor Daley has, on more than one occasion, expressed regret for what were clearly horrific acts and a regrettable time in our city's history. His remarks today were by no means aimed at the alleged victims or their families but merely reflect his frustration that certain key points of the case are routinely lost in the media, namely, the fact that it wasn't until Mayor Daley became mayor that Jon Burge was fired.

Mayor Daley today came out against plans to open up a new high school that primarily serves lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. This is just the latest bump in the road for Pride Campus of Social Justice High School, which would have been similar to New York's Harvey Milk High School and Milwaukee's Alliance High School. The Chicago Board of Education yesterday delayed a vote on the school until November 19. Daley, who appoints members to the school board, says he had no sway over its decision. more ›

One Harvey neighborhood has learned that even the Postal Service has its limits. Mail service stopped in the high-crime neighborhood, specifically along Marshfield Ave. between 151st and 152nd Streets, almost two weeks ago when a shooting happened just a few yards from the postal worker delivering mail. Venus Jones, a neighborhood resident, said, "Between robberies and shootings and delayed police response, several things going on, that would make it unsafe." The postal carrier was shaken but okay. Said a postal spokesman:

She was unfortunately in the wrong place when some passersby broke out in gunfire. Thankfully no one was injured, no residents or the carrier. One of our supervisors called the Harvey police and they were there in five minutes to make sure she was OK. There was not much she could give, except she saw a car and she gave a description.

surprising. Hell, they probably spend $1 million just on Windex for the Bean. The real shocker probably unknown to most Chicagoans is that it wasn't supposed to cost anything at all. Similar to the Buckingham Fountain Endowment Fund, Millennium Park maintenance was supposed to be funded by a conservancy paid for by private donors. But unlike Buckingham Fountain, the conservancy was not backed by any real dollars, but rather empty pledges. And once donors learned that keeping Millennium Park looking spiffy involved just a bit more than cutting the grass, they bailed: more ›

As Mayor Daley continues to try to play the "Not My Fault" game in the Burge torture case, he's decided to kick things up a notch and get all sassy on us. Originally, the Mayor said earlier this week:

I was not the mayor. Wait. Wait. There's nothing in the indictment. You're mixing apples and oranges...you're doing a great disservice. I'm very proud of my role as prosecutor. I was not the mayor. I was not the police chief. I did not promote this man in the '80s. Let's put everything in perspective.

It was a small piece buried at the end of yesterday's Cubs round-up from Paul Sullivan, but it seems that Cubs broadcaster Bob Brenly has landed himself on the short list of managerial candidates for the Cubs' NL Central rivals, the Brewers. Steve Rosenbloom commented a bit on the story today, claiming it's unlikely Brenly would leave unless the Brewers managed to re-sign robo-armed ace C.C. Sabathia. Fair enough. Either way, we're not surprised a former manager with a World Series ring is in demand. more ›

It's official -- the Cow is now... returning to Chicago radio. WLS 890 has announced that the radio personality everyone loves to hate, Mancow Muller, will begin broadcasting October 27th in the 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. slot, currently filled by conservative host Jerry Agar. In our interview with Muller last year he had some pretty harsh words for FM radio, so it's not surprising that he eventually wound up on an AM powerhouse. He also said at the time that offers had been coming in weekly and he could "be on [in Chicago] tomorrow" -- so the question is, if that's true, did he wait too long? more ›

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear the case of Ignacio Carlos Flores-Figueroa, an illegal immigrant and worker at an East Moline steel plant who earlier this year was convicted of aggravated identity theft and sentenced to 75 months in the federal pokie. (That's a lot of tax dollars going to incarcerate another country's citizen. Just saying.) The issue in this case involves the federal charge of aggravated identity theft and intent: i.e., must the government show that a defendant knew that the identification he or she used, owned or transferred belonged to somebody else in order to score a conviction? more ›

Behind an outstanding performance from Nikolai Khabibulin, who stopped all 23 shots he faced, the Blackhawks shutout the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 last night. Patrick Sharp started the scoring early with a power play goal 2:36 into the first period. Brent Seabrook added a goal at 18:35 in the first and defenseman Aaron Johnson scored at 12:17 in the second. It was Khabibulin's 39th career NHL shutout and had Coach Queenneville singing his praises: "He’s been very good. It’s nice to see a guy who was off for an extended period to come back with a great response.” more ›

With the price of oil at $67 a barrel, gas prices continue to drop, down to an average of $3.22 per gallon here in the Chicago area and they could reach as low as $2.80 a gallon here and $2.50 nationwide by the end of the year. But prices might not drop much further as OPEC is looking to take as many as two million barrels per day off the market to slow the current trend. And even though the recent dramatic price drop has resulted in an almost $125 billion surplus among Americans, it's not necessarily a sign of an improving economy as Americans continue to see the Dow roller coaster and fear layoffs and the obliteration of retirement funds. Sigh... more ›

A recent Chicago Tribune poll of 500 registered voters found that not very many people approve of the job Governor Blagojevich is doing. In fact, only 13 percent think he's doing a good job and even fewer (10 percent) want to see him back in 2010, if he even survives his current term. This...comes as no shock to us. Rezko, the FBI, the CTA clusterfuck, the list goes on and on and on. We can hear Mayor Daley cackling in delight from here. more ›

Just in time for Halloween, an infestation of bats has closed down Moulton Middle School in the Central Illinois town of Shelbyville. Between 300 and 500 bats are residing in the school's ceiling and their guano is raising a stink at the school. Tests are being done to determine if the bats pose any health threats to the students. If so, the school would remain closed through Friday and students would attend classes at a neighboring school. We had a lot of nightmares about school in our collective lifetimes (standing naked in front of the class, forgetting our homework, etc.) but, honestly, bats never crossed our minds. more ›

Looks like Round Lake Mayor Bill Gentes told a little fib on his resume. Gentes, a Democrat who is campaigning for the state senate seat in 26th district, said he took a leave of absence as operations director at the Realtor Association of NorthWest Chicagoland. As it turns out, he was actually fired from the position early this year. Oops! Gentes told the Chicago Tribune that he didn't come clean about his employment history because he was "embarrassed." Still, it's probably not as embarrassing as being caught in a lie because you were too embarrassed to tell the truth in the first place. more ›

The FBI is continuing to test suspicious powder found in envelopes sent to more than 30 Chase Bank locations around the U.S., including a credit card center in Elgin. Initial tests showed the powder wasn't poisonous; FBI officials in Oklahoma where eight letters ended up said their content was simply calcium. The letters all share a postmark of Amarillo, Texas. more ›

Despite earlier statements saying that WBIG's tower lights were lit at the time of the Air Angels crash that killed 4 people, station owner Rick Jakle certainly breathed a sigh of relief when security video independently confirmed that the lights were indeed illuminated. The Tribune reports that a security camera at the Route 59 Metra station, pointing north, indicated that the lights were flashing up to 11:58 pm, the time of the crash, and Suburban Chicago News reports that the NTSB has confirmed it as well. Neither the helicopter or the crash were visible on the video. more ›

Next spring, the New York Yankees will take the wraps off their new $1.6 billion stadium and while the Bronx Bombers will host the Cleveland Indians for their official Home Opening Day, the Cubs might actually be the first opponent to take the field in the new park. The Cubs and Yanks are in negotiations to play an exhibition game or two in the "House That Jeter Built" the weekend before MLB's official Opening Day on April 6. more ›

Where's Chris Hansen when you need him? Michael Macalindong, 25, was sentenced to 35 years in prison and supervision for the rest of his life upon release for using Facebook to lure teens for sex. Facebook claims it's the first time such a thing has happened at their site. The encounters began in August 2006:

...Macalindong posed as a girl online and told the 15-year-old Evanston victim "she" would have sex with him [the teen] if the boy first had sex with a male friend of "hers." Macalindong then posed as that friend and videotaped the encounter.

The Arab television network Al-Jazeera has sent a documentary crew on the road in the United States to talk to voters and they visited the Northwest Indiana town of Chesterton this week. The crew, Graham Meriwether and Chris Henderson, are touring communities in the country, part of the Red Blue Road Trip project, to get a read on voters as the historic 2008 Presidential election. The two drive from town to town in a 2002 Honda and edit the footage together on the go. As for the fact they work with Al-Jazeera, the crew hasn't had much trouble. Henderson said, "It's not always the first thing we mention, but if they ask us who we're shooting for, we're honest about it. We don't really have anything to hide. We're cognizant that people may have hesitancy because what's been broadcast in the U.S. about it." more ›

While city dwellers have been breaking records in early voting, suburban Cook County is on the cusp of breaking records in voter registration. As Illinois' grace period for later registration came to a close last night and registrations were still being tallied, the 'burbs were around 1.34 million registered voters; the old record is 1.4 million. Cook County Clerk David Orr expects to top that old record by about 40,000 voters. When you include Chicago, Cook County will have around 2.8 million registered voters come November 4th. No word on how many of those are goldfish. more ›

Tonight's Blackhawks game at the United Center against the Edmonton Oilers will also be the Chicago stop of Hockey Fights Cancer Night. In place since 1998, the night includes several fan-friendly events, including a raffle and silent auction, that help raise money for local breast cancer organizations. Several Blackhawks also participated in Sunday's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event. Tickets for tonight's game are still available. more ›

According to a story by the Drudge Report, Oprah may produce Obama's upcoming 30-minute infomercial.

Oprah Winfrey is offering to "produce" the half-hour Barack Obama advertisement set to air on Oct. 29, a top source tells the DRUDGE REPORT. The Daytime TV dynamo has even offered up her studio space in Chicago. more ›

Looks like future generations of Flying Wallendas will have to go elsewhere. The Winnetka Park District closed down a flying trapeze camp after the owner was charged with sexual exploitation of a child. more ›

Today is the last day to register to vote in Illinois under the grace period rule. If you haven't registered yet, you're in luck: you can register until 10 p.m. at 69 W. Washington, Suite 600. But you'd better brush up on your ballots as you'll have to cast your vote at the same time you register. Read more about it here [PDF]. more ›

Rick Telander visited the On the DL Podcast this week in an outstanding interview. We've always been partial to Telander as far as the Sun-Times' sports writers go, and the interview just further cements his status. Listen to what he has to say about working with Mariotti and running into him in a sauna by clicking here [MP3]. We also loved this segment [MP3] on the Cubs' playoff flame-out. Hell, the entire interview is worth checking out, so get clicking. [via Awful Announcing] more ›

Six Chicago Public Schools employees, including two teachers, have been charged with fraud after officials discovered a scheme that paid the staff members for time not worked. They bilked the schools for more than $135,000. Two other employees who helped set-up the scheme have already been charged, bringing the scheme's total participants to eight. Of those, six have been fired or resigned while two more await discipline. Yep, these are our educators. more ›

The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is offering wooden picnic tables for sale that have been used District-wide. These picnic tables have been treated with Copper Chromate Arsenate better known as (CCA) a chemical preservative. This chemical was pressure injected into wooden pieces to protect it from rot, fungi, molds, termites and other pests that can threaten the integrity of wood products. As of January 1, 2004 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advised that CCA should no longer be used to treat wood.

It doesn't matter that his campaign was able to wrangle a whopping $150 million in September; Barack Obama is going to make media members dig deep into their pockets to attend Obamapalooza on Election Night. While logistics as to whether or not attendees will need tickets is still being sorted out, one thing is for sure: the media will be paying high prices to attain their passes. Depending on what amenities are needed, media members will pay from $715 to $1,815 for access. In addition, the media will have to pony up another $935 just to get access to the press tent to talk to campaign officials. There will be a free access area, but the press release from the Obama campaign describes it as, "outdoors, unassigned and may have obstructed views...standing room only.” So kind of like those shitty seats way up in the first level of Wrigley where you can't even see the scoreboard. more ›

Chicago will be the first stop on a world tour for the IOC's 2016 Summer Games evaluation commission next spring. The fun is from April 2nd to 8th here in Chicago; the rest of the order goes Tokyo (April 14 to 20), Rio (April 27 to May 3), and Madrid (May 4 to 9). Someone's gonna have a lot of frequent flyer miles. After the tour, the commission will issue a report at the beginning of September in advance of the October 2, 2009 announcement of the host city. more ›

City council hearings began yesterday on Mayor Daley's newly-released 2009 city budget, and our aldermen don't seem to be very happy about many of its proposals. Daley's plan to slash police force hiring was a hotly contested item, as well as the scheme to boot cars after two tickets instead of three - a projected $48 million revenue generator. more ›

Former police commander Jon Burge, whose name has become synonymous in this city with police torture, was arrested this morning at his home in Tampa, Florida. He's been charged with perjury and obstruction of justice, charges which carry decades of jail time if Burge is convicted. more ›

Former Chicago Bears defensive star Mike Singletary has been promoted to head coach of the San Francisco 49ers after the 49ers fired coach Mike Nolan on Monday afternoon. Singletary, a Hall-of-Famer, has been a linebacker coach for the 49ers since 2005 and was assistant head coach this year. No word on whether or not The Fridge will be brought in as the team's nutritionist. more ›

Illinois Senator and Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama is excusing himself from campaign appearances over the next two days to head to Hawaii to visit his gravely ill 86-year-old grandmother, Madelyn Dunham. Obama will still make scheduled appearances in Florida at the beginning of this week, but will bypass appearances in Iowa and Ohio at the end of the week to return to Hawaii on Thursday. Wife Michelle will appear in his place at rallies in Ohio on Friday; the Senator will return to the trail on Saturday out West. more ›

Mayor Daley's proposed 2009 budget got no love from organized labor this weekend. But Daley's not taking any of their guff by telling them to go along with the plan or be prepared to find a pink slip. On Friday, union leaders and city officials met to discuss the 929 city employees who would be laid off if Daley's budget were okayed by the city council (we wonder what the odds are on that bet). more ›

The Chicago Cubs and GM Jim Hendry have reached an agreement on a contract extension that will keep Hendry with the Cubs through the 2012 season. Hendry has the third-longest tenure at GM (July 2002 to present) and is the only Cubs GM to see the team go to the postseason three times. He's also the only Cubs GM to see the team lose in the playoffs three times. Said Hendry upon the extension announcement, "It's an honor to receive this long-term commitment from the Chicago Cubs. We know there is work to be done in reaching our goal, and I thank my staff for their commitment to this organization. We'll continue to do everything it takes to reward our great fans for their dedication to this team." Like a World Series trophy? Awesome. K thnx bai. more ›

When I look down at the grey, weather-beaten, splitting-wood platform beneath my feet on the Rockwell Stop, I wonder what relation to any one of the Powers That Be owns a lumber yard. Because it just seems silly that you'd rebuild numerous El platforms and stations, and then use untreated, unfinished wood planks that fall apart months after the grand reopening of the Brown Line station. And then I think about the months-long period of time where the automatic door openers at the stations were on the fritz, making the doors almost inoperable to open without mechanical assistance. And I wonder: What's the deal, CTA? Am I the only one thinking these thinks? more ›

First it was West Nile, then Ebola, and now Legionnaire's Disease has hit the Chicago area. So far, five cases have been reported in Tinley Park and another in Orland Park. Between 8,000 and 18,000 people are hospitalized with Legionnaire's Disease each year. Tests are being conducted on produce from local grocery stores as well as water supplies to seek out a cause. At this rate, we expect to read a story about the plague hitting Bolingbrook* any day now. more ›

The University of Nebraska has withdrawn a speaking invitation to controversial University of Illinois professor Bill Ayers. Ayers, as everyone knows by now, is a former radical with the Weather Underground group, known for some acts of domestic terrorism. Ayers had originally been invited to be a keynote speaker with the university's College of Education and Human Sciences centennial celebration. Nebraska cited "safety reasons" for the cancellation. more ›

With both Bears starting cornerbacks and their nickel back out due to injury, we feared the Bears might give up a whole lotta points. What we perhaps hadn't anticipated was that the Bears would manage to score even more and pull out the win, which they did by beating their NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings 48-41 at Soldier Field on Sunday. more ›

The man who died shortly after being tasered by Chicago Police on Saturday has been identified as 39-year-old Homer Taylor. The exact cause of death is still unknown pending autopsy results. Taylor had just been released from jail on October 10 after serving a two-year sentence on forgery and drug convictions. more ›

Bears Outlast Vikings more ›

Cartoon for Chicagoist by Tim Daly more ›

We might have to add a new category to the Rod Blagojevich Death Pool -- "Before/After Patti Gets Indicted". Patti Blagojevich has been laying low at her new job with the Chicago Christian Industrial League, but that hasn't lessened the heat federal investigators are putting on her and her former real estate company, River Realty. more ›

In an appearance today on NBC's , former Secretary of State and retired general Colin Powell gave his endorsement of Barack Obama for president. more ›

[Disco] Revolutionary new research is dancing its way out of the University of Illinois medical school: more ›

Reminiscent of an incident earlier this year, an unidentified man died after police used a Taser on him when he allegedly resisted arrest and lashed at them with "a sharp-edged object." A bike patrol on the West Side originally gave chase to the man when they witnessed him behaving "erratically" and drinking alcohol. Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond said the man appeared to also have swallowed an "unknown amount of narcotics," which, hello, probably doesn't help your heart when getting zapped with 50,000 volts. [Trib] more ›

Chicago Public School officials said yesterday they would delay voting on plans to build the city’s first high school aimed at gay youth until next month. The planned School for Social Justice Pride Campus was scheduled to be voted on Wednesday. more ›

"Sometimes . . . people think it's funny to get a magazine addressed to their cat or their dog, and when they do that, their cat or dog ends up on the list," Johnson said. "But we're just trying to make it as easy as possible for people to register and vote."

Incredibly anti-climactic and completely expected after the Tribune's surprise endorsement of Barack Obama for president yesterday, the Bright One's editorial board has officially announced that they, too, are backing our home town Senator for the top spot: more ›

The Sun-Times has endorsed Barack Obama for President this afternoon - they're just not saying why until Sunday. more ›

When we were kids, we got some reward for good grades, like $1 for every A. With $5 or $6 in our pockets after a good report card, we felt like Richie Rich. But it's nothing compared to what some Chicago Public School students are getting now for their high marks Private donations and Harvard University education research laboratory are funding the "Green for Grades" program which awards 1,650 freshmen in 20 CPS schools for earning high grades. more ›

Architect Santiago Calatrava has stopped work on the Chicago Spire skyscraper and filed a lien against Dublin-based developer Shelbourne Development Ltd., claiming he's owed $11.34 million in work on the planned 2,000 foot tall building. [Cago Real Estate Daily] more ›

The Chicago Tribune, which Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama called, "a Republican-leaning newspaper" in Wednesday's debate, has leaned the other way, endorsing Obama for president, the first time in the paper's history it has endorsed a Democrat for president.
more ›

While the CTA has seen it necessary to raise fares, Metra won't be following suit in 2009. Fare hikes might be necessary in 2010 depending on whether or not the state government gives them necessary funding. Metra's on pace to carry a total of 85 million riders this year, an all-time high. Huzzah! more ›

We're inside a year until next fall's fateful announcement of the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics. As we face transit and budget trouble, we're beginning to question the feasibility of these games more and more, but onward we march towards a potential Olympics. more ›

A new study from the University of Illinois' school of medicine found that the ideal number of chest compressions when performing CPR is near 100 per minute, or, as students discovered, the same beat of the Bee Gee's classic disco hit, "Stayin' Alive." According to CNN:

[Dr. David Matlock's] study involved 15 students and doctors and had two parts. First they did CPR on mannequins while listening to the song on iPods. They were asked to time chest compressions with the song's beat.

The Chaffey Community Republican Women Federated of San Bernardino County, in Upland, California is in trouble after they ran an altered image (see above) of Barack Obama that utilized stereotypes of blacks and was labeled as a "food stamp." The group used the picture in a newsletter it recently sent out to 200 members, along with the caption, "Obama talks about all those presidents that got their names on bills. If elected, what bill would he be on ????? Food Stamps, what else!" You stay classy, San Bernardino. more ›

The Fraternal Order of Police is making a move to block CTA President Ron Huberman from claiming his police pension. The Ron, who makes $198,000 a year, claims that he's entitled to it since part of his job at the CTA is managing security. He had previously worked for the CPD for 13 years, serving as both a patrol officer and then an assistant deputy superintendent, focusing on technology; he last worked for the CPD in 2004. In an interview a few weeks ago with the Sun-Times, The Ron had said, "Part of my responsibility is security at the CTA. I'm not saying I'm a police officer because I'm not. But the law says if you're involved in security work and that's part of your responsibility, you have the right to pay in if you're on leave of absence." more ›

In the final chapter of the ongoing Tom Dart Eviction Saga, Sheriff Dart has said that with the new court procedures in place, he will resume evictions on Monday. Dart hopes the new orders will ensure that the banks will properly notify rent-paying tenants of foreclosures on the buildings they live in. more ›

As early voting continues to take off, it might help to know what races are on your ballot. We're still gathering info for our own run-down of the offices on the city's ballot, but if you want to take a look at your ballot before casting your vote in the next two weeks, you're in luck. Hit up the Chicago Board of Elections website to enter your address and see your city's ballot and head over to the Cook County Clerk's Office site for Cook County suburbs. Links to DuPage, Lake, and Will counties are there, too. more ›

Last night's fatal crash of an Air Angels helicopter flight in west suburban Aurora still has no apparent cause, but more information is coming out. The victims have been identified as William Mann of Chicago, Dell Waugh of Carmel, Indiana, and Ronald Battiato of Peotone; the infant patient has been identified as Kirstian Blockinger of Leland. more ›

Still confused about the financial bailout even after all these debates? DePaul University's Department of Economics and Master of Science Program in Economics and Policy Analysis is hosting a town hall forum tonight to explore the financial rescue package and how it might affect you. On-hand to discuss the package will be: more ›

We're just one week into the NHL's regular season, and already the Blackhawks have made a change at the top. Following a sluggish 1-2-1 start to the season, Denis Savard was fired as head coach on Thursday. Savard's axing comes a day after the team won their first game of the young season, but it was too little, too late for GM Dale Tallon apparently. While many have high hopes for the team and they've been slow out of the gate, this change seems very premature. more ›

The trickle of local job eliminations has now become a steady stream. Playboy Enterprises, Inc. announced yesterday that cost-cutting measures will result in 55 jobs being cut at the Chicago division of offices. Museums are fighting to keep their heads above water as well; the Peggy Notebart Nature Museum has already cut 16 percent of its staff after the first two months of the fiscal year saw a 45 percent drop in income, and the Field Museum has eliminated five positions. more ›

We can't get past the idiotic concept to even decide whether or not it's the "racial slur" it's being described as. A man in way-west suburban Lily Lake is causing quite the kerfuffle over a sign he's placed on his property along Route 47. The sign shows Barack Obama wearing a clown nose and wig, overlaid with a classic red circle with a line through it and the words "NO BROZOS". This is actually the second version of the sign to be displayed -- the first one was torn down and vandalized. Not taking any chances this time, the new one has a ring of barbed wire around it. "Fer sure no one be messin' with mah sign now!" Police have received a complaint about the sign, but they aren't going to do anything about it because of that whole "free speech" thing and all. more ›

By now, you've watched the debate, read the recaps all over the interwebs, and even checked out this "Joe The Plumber" guy. As for us, our political writer, Kevin Robinson, is traveling right now so I caught up with him via IM to get his thoughts on last night's third Presidential debate. While it was at times lively, and we thought moderator Bob Schieffer did a good job, it ended up being much of the same for anyone who has watched previous debates and followed the campaigns. Still, there was plenty to talk about. more ›

Lucca's on Southport just north of Diversey is one of those quiet, charming, neighborhood restaurants that manages to keep on chugging away year after year without much fanfare. We pass it regularly and think, "We should go back there some time," but never do. So it was a bit startling when we read that an exterminator and maintenance man discovered a body in the restaurant's basement, bound and having suffered from either gunshot or stab wounds. The man was identified as the restaurant's manager, Randall Hilderbrand. Police say there was no apparent evidence of a robbery, and are investigating motive and suspects. [S-T, MyFox, Trib] more ›

Four people, including a one-year-old baby, were killed when a medical helicopter bound for Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital clipped a WBIG radio tower and crashed in a field in Aurora. Besides the girl, a pilot, nurse, and paramedic were killed by the crash; no one on the ground was injured. The Air Angels copter flight had originated from Valley West Hospital in Sandwich. The helicopter clipped the tower shortly before midnight, but officials are speculating there may have been problems with the flight already because it was flying so low; under normal conditions, the copter should not have been flying low enough to hit the tower (the height of which ranges from 690 to 750 feet, depending on which media outlet's info you believe). Residents of a nearby apartment complex were evacuated for fear of damage from guide wires in the event the damaged tower collapsed. more ›

Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 29 of 30 shots he faced and the 'Hawks scored four unanswered goals as they topped the Phoenix Coyote 4-1 to get their first win of the season. Martin Havlat and Patrick Sharp both netted goals for the Blackhawks in the second period, overcoming an earlier Phoenix goal, to take a 2-1 lead after a scoreless first. Rookie Colin Fraser scored his first career NHL goal in the opening minutes of the third period and defenseman Brian Campbell got his first goal as a Blackhawk 12:04 into the final period. Said Coach Savard after the win, “It’s a good win, we’re excited. But there are still things we need to continue to work on.” more ›

A Springfield Jaycees' Haunted House was forced to paint over a mural which included a depiction of Mike Madigan and Gov. Blagojevich strangling each other and GOP VP Candidate Sarah Palin shooting Bullwinkle J. Moose (who was holding a "Joe Biden" sign). This after Illinois Department of Agriculture officials saw the mural which spokesman Jeff Squibb said, "wasn't appropriate for a family event." More legitimate, though, are worries that the mural could be seen as "electioneering on state-owned property." The haunted house is located in a space below the Illinois State Fairgrounds Grandstand. Gary Kessler, who designed the room the mural was in, was nonplussed by the reasoning. "It shows a complete and total lack of any sense of humor. Not family friendly? As opposed to cannibalism, chain saws, axes and body parts?" It just goes to show that even at Halloween, politics is the scariest horror of all. ZING! more ›

The excrement hit the fan today when Mayor Daley unveiled his proposed budget to the city council. Daley and his team hope that this new budget (check out the highlights here) will help close an estimated $470 million shortfall by laying off 929 city workers (hey, they could always go into PR) eliminating more than a thousand vacant jobs, partially shutting down the government near holidays, raising the parking and amusement taxes, doing away with the Fire Department's Segway patrols (seriously?), doubling library fines, and privatizing 35,000 parking meters. more ›

Police Supt. Jody Weis is looking to overhaul the Chicago Police Department as the Department faces an officer shortage and a rise in crime. It's not the first time Weis has shaken things up at the CDP HQ; he stirred the pot shortly after his appointment by replacing many district commanders with his own choices. First, Weis wants to add two new assistant superintendents, one for administration and one for operations. Both would answer directly to the Superintendent. Current first deputy superintendent Jimmy Jackson would become assistant superintendent of operations. Weis had previously taken Jackson's oversight of merit promotions and assigned that to civilian Ted O’Keefe who is currently the deputy superintendent of administrative services. The new assistant superintendent of administration would be O'Keefe's supervisor. Whew. more ›

You know that awful feeling you get when you have to sit and wait while the police officer writes you a ticket? Not just that adrenaline rush from being pulled over, but the sense of shame as people drive by, glancing in your direction and saying to themselves, "Man, glad it wasn't me"? Well, that feeling will always be there but your wait will be shorter soon thanks to a new electronic traffic ticket system being implemented which allegedly cuts the time taken to issue a ticket in half, thus enabling Johnny Law to get back out on the highway and issue more tickets. Officials hope to have the system in place by the end of the year. Um, hooray? more ›

Tonight's Presidential Debate (8 p.m., various channels) is the third and final sparring match between Senators Obama and McCain. With the election 20 days away, a CBS/New York Times poll has Obama with a 14-point lead, though other polls show a much closer race. Some are projecting an Obama landslide while others are still focusing on the (slight) possibility of an Electoral College clusterfuck. One thing we do know is that as we come down to the wire, things are gonna get personal. Obama has been on the offensive regarding McCain's mortgage plan. As for McCain, he's promised he'll bring up Obama's connection to Bill Ayers in tonight's debate. It makes us wonder how moderator Bill Schieffer will handle things. He already told us how he prepares for debates, but will things devolve into a total The Hills-esque cat fight? Of course, some people have their own opinion of what the candidates should be asked and others will be watching body language pretty closely. As for us? We'll be sitting back and just taking it all in; it's going to be must-see TV. more ›

It was a little over a week ago that we brought you the first report of a man dressed as a clown trying to lure kids into his vehicle in the Garfield Park area. And before we even had time to scrub that image from our brains, a new report from WBBM has new info on the King of the Creepers: Not only is the South Side not safe either, but he's using balloons, too. Oh good lord. more ›

The City has released its 2009 budget and you read all about it in this 148-page whopper of an overview [PDF]. Want more? You can scope out this 250+ page summary. Check out all of the city's info here. We've got to read through it all first, but we'll be offering up our analysis in a bit. more ›

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is closer to resuming evictions of rent-paying tenants living in foreclosed properties now that judges are using a new court document. The new document specifically outlines how long the tenant has until he/she has to leave the property - the shortest of 120 days or the remainder of the lease. Dart spokesman Steve Patterson said:

We applaud Judge Kinnaird for taking this step and believe it brings us much closer to a resolution. We're continuing to meet with the judge and state's attorneys, addressing logistical changes that will have to take place before the plan can be finalized. But we're confident things are moving in that direction.

The financial clusterfuck has reached a level we thought it never would: affecting cola sales. In response, PepsiCo is preparing to cut around 120 jobs from its Barrington and Chicago offices. The company plans to cut 3,300 jobs nation-wide. As people eat out less and make less gas station stops (since they're driving less), soda sales have fizzled, according to Pepsi Chief Financial Officer Richard Goodman, who said, "The beverage business was clearly the soft spot. The whole category has continued to be soft this year." more ›

In an effort to help cut emissions, Governor Blagojevich plans to introduce "Green Lanes" for the Illinois Tollway. Essentially "express lanes," these new lanes will be for drivers of hybrid vehicles and car-poolers. The lanes would be placed in some of the busier segments of Tollway roads, thus cutting down on congestion and emissions from the constant stop-and-go of gas-brake-gas-brake pedal pumping. Carpool lanes are not a new concept; if anything, Illinois is late to the party as cities nationwide have been implementing similar programs for years. Cities like New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Nashville have HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes. Of course, Chicago looked at the idea of adding the lanes to the Stevenson in '94, but Mayor Daley squashed that idea. Still, Blago's proposal at least has the "green" element, which is, we admit, not a bad idea. more ›

Sebastian Rodriguez, the 15-year-old accused of shooting 13-year-old Sameere Conn at a South Side grocery store on October 1, had previously threatened Sameere's life, according to prosecutors. Assistant State's Atty. Maria McCarthy said at Sebastian's bail hearing, "Three days before the shooting, the defendant and another witness had a three-way phone conversation with the victim. The defendant told the victim that he had a 'death list' that had the victim's name on it." Sebastian had also made similar threats against Sameere several weeks before the shooting. Friends told police after the shooting that Sameere had recently been pressured into joining a gang, but the 8th grader had refused to do so. more ›

We tend to be somewhat skeptical of university rankings just because there are so many out there, but if there's one thing we notice, it's that the University of Chicago seems to rank high in pretty much all of them. And it's no different with the rankings released by QS (Quacquarelli Symonds). The home to a bevy of Nobel Prize winners, including the recently awarded Yoichiro Nambu, has been ranked as the eighth best university IN THE WORLD! (emphasis ours). Suck on that, MIT. more ›

It was five years ago tonight that Steve Bartman made his infamous grab for a foul ball in the left field stands at Wrigely. We all remember. And while we here at Chicagoist have gone on record before calling curses a load of bunk, it's still, for better or (mostly) worse, an iconic moment in Chicago baseball history. We'd just like to remind you, though, that even though everyone points to this as a turning point in the series, there's still the issue of Alex Gonzalez muffing a sure double-play ball and the bullpen collapsing later in that game. Oh, and it was also Game Six. Just like the Buckner play during Red Sox-Mets in '86. The Cubs still had a Game Seven to win the series (just like the Sox) but blew a 5-3 lead to lose that game as well. The lesson here? Blame the bullpen. Always blame the bullpen. more ›

Mattel, Inc. has announced that - as of an undisclosed future date - the "Samantha" doll will be moved into the American Girl archives. What, is Samantha not good enough to compete with the Julie doll and her hip hair and roller skates!? Booooo! To appease your sense of loss, run over to the new American Girl Place store and meander past Samantha's display one last time. more ›

Chicago has a long and rich history of nepotism and this latest example shows that it's still business as usual. James J. Banks, the nephew of 36th Ward Ald. William Banks, is known as an attorney who represents developers before the City Council Zoning Committee, which is chaired by his uncle the alderman. But James is also the chairman of the Belmont Bank & Trust, which appears to be a private piggy bank for some developers and the Banks family. more ›

The CTA added a new alert system today that enables riders to receive emails notifying them of construction reroutes. Said CTA President Ron Huberman, “Over the last year, it’s become very clear to all of us at the CTA that we needed to come up with a very holistic plan to change how we communicate with our customers." Click here to read more on the system and sign up for the alerts. more ›

Maybe you will be able to afford the drive to Aunt Mabel's for Thanksgiving dinner in Fon du Lac after all - the price of crude oil continues to drop, and we're slowly starting to see the effects trickle down throughout the Chicagoland area. The Bright One spoke with energy analyst Phil Flynn, who said that demand is down and supplies are increasing as refiners get past hurricane season and start building supplies for winter driving. more ›

Considering October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, now seems as good a time as any for Illinois' Medicaid program to begin covering genetic testing for the breast cancer gene. The test detects mutations of the BRCA gene, which often play a role in hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. This test is one of the earliest forms of detection, giving women the ability to know they are at a higher risk for developing the disease before any symptoms appear. Per the Trib:

Illinois First Lady Patti Blagojevich, who pushed for the new Medicaid coverage, said in a statement: "It is important to me that we protect our daughters from hereditary forms of breast and ovarian cancer by identifying it as early as possible." more ›

In order to save some money, Mayor Daley announced today that City Hall would be closed on the Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and New Years Eve both this year and next. The six day shut-down will save the city approximately $19.8 million total. Sayeth the Sun-Times, "The only city employees scheduled to work those traditionally high-absenteeism days will be police officers, firefighters, 911 center employees and a skeletal crew in departments like Streets and Sanitation, Water, Aviation and Family Services." The stinker? The rest of the city workers will have to take the days off unpaid in order for the whole thing to work. We guess a few unpaid days beats getting laid off. In the event of a snowstorm, the city workers would be called back in. more ›

Watching the Dow rise and fall in recent weeks has been like riding a roller coaster with a bad case of stomach flu. It sank like a stone last week after Congress approved a $850 billion bailout and the credit markets remained frozen. This week, upon news that the Federal government will be partially nationalizing the nation's major banks, the Dow saw its biggest one-day increase ever. In a year in which we've seen skyrocketing grocery prices in relation to increased oil costs, the thought of paying even more for provisions crossed us more than once. more ›

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, he of "We won't surprise tenants with an eviction order intended for their landlord" fame, recently sat down with Time Magazine to discuss the housing crisis and why he came to the decision he did.

Tell me about your thoughts on the "cavalier" attitude at the root of this problem. more ›

If you feel a chill in the air, it's not because of Autumn, it's because the lead ringwraith himself, Vice President Dick Cheney, is in town to campaign for U.S. Congressional candidate Marty Ozinga. Cheney will be attending a private fund-raiser at Ozinga's house in Homer Glen. Ozinga is locked in a battle with Debbie Halvorson for the 11th District seat being vacated by exiting Congressman Jerry Weller. more ›

The Bears will be without Terrance Metcalf for the next four games after the guard tested positive for a diuretic during a random drug test during the preseason. Becuase they can be used to mask steroid use, they are among the banned substances for players in the NFL. Metcalf says he's never taken steroids and isn't sure how a diuretic got into his system. more ›

Ah, those Economic Stimulus checks. Remember those heady days? The Summer of '08, when the government just handed us money and few did what they should have done (pay off credit card debts and mortgage payments) and instead stimulated the economy by purchasing that HDTV they didn't need. That worked well. According to the IRS, almost 100,000 Chicagoa-area residents haven't filed for theirs and the deadline is approaching. Tomorrow, in fact. Illinois ranks 7th nationally in terms of those who haven't filed. Those who still want to file can check out more info at the IRS website. All told, 4.3 million Americans have yet to file for the stimulus check for a total pay-out of $1.3 billion. Look...we know things are tight all over, but $1.3 billion? It wouldn't be the thing in the world if that goes unclaimed and the government could, you know, use it to pay off a small chunk of that $10 trillion debt, would it? more ›

Kevin Foster, an Evanston native and former Chicago Cubs pitcher, passed away Monday at the age of 39 from renal cell carcinoma, an illness he had battled over the course of six months. Foster had been living and working in Oklahoma City at the time of his death. Foster was acquired from the Phillies in 1994 in a trade involving Shawn Boskie; during his early days with the Cubs, Foster lived with his family in Evanston. It was this modesty, said his brother Mark, that defined Kevin.

Kev was just a nice, humble kid. Just a regular guy. It was like a dream for him when he got to play for the Cubs. We used to come down on the L to watch games at Wrigley Field as kids, and now he's pitching there. But he never got starry-eyed. He'd just come home after playing in a game, just the same as he did when he played in high school. Everything was just normal to him.

It's looking like a record-setting year for early voting in the Chicago area, most likely due to a certain Hyde Park resident who's running for President. According to an email exchange we had with Chicago Board of Election Commissioners Communications Director James Allen, 11,074 ballots had been cast as of 4:27 p.m. yesterday. By the end of the day, that number had reached 11,735, nearly three times the previous record for the first day of early voting and just shy of the 11, 971 votes cast on the last day of early voting before this year's primary election in February (we were stuck in that ridonkulous line for two hours). Our own Karl Klockars reported waiting in line yesterday to cast his early vote. Even the 'burbs got in on the act, casting 7,616 early votes, smashing the previous record of 1,591, also from this year's primary early voting period. more ›

Back at home, in the friendly confines of the United Center, and still the Blackhawks couldn't get one in the win column, though they did earn a point in losing 3-2 to the Nashville Predators in a shoot-out. Martin Havlat got the 'Hawks an early lead with a power play goal at 6:14, but Nashville got two goals of their own past goalie Cristobal Huet for a 2-1 lead. Patrick Sharp tied things up for the 'Hawks in the opening moments of the second period, but then both teams went scoreless through the rest of the second period, the entire third period, and overtime. In the shoot-out, Patrick Kane and Havlat were both stopped by Nashville goalie Dan Ellis while the first two Nashville shooters scored to earn the win. Said Havlat of the 'Hawks 0-2-1 start to the season, “I think the previous two games we had more chances than tonight. It’s not the offense that’s costing us the game. Our overall defensive game - the whole team, not just the defense - that’s what’s costing us games.” more ›

The sketch of a man believed to have attempted a child abduction this weekend in the Chicago Lawn community has been released.

Police say an unknown male white offender attempted to abduct a young male victim. The male offender approached the victim in a Dodge Caravan, silver or gray in color, which was being driven by a female white offender. The male offender then opened the side door of the van and grabbed the victim by his leg and arm and attempted to drag him into the vehicle. The victim was able to flee from the offender and run to his home... more ›

Years after anyone to the left of Pat Buchanan dismissed it as nonsense, the New York Times takes a look at the one person primarily responsible for the rumor that Barack Obama is a Muslim -- Andy Martin. more ›

As temps inched north of 80 degrees yesterday, the Chicago Marathon saw some medical calls, but the numbers were down from last year's heat-tarnished race. There were 110 "calls for medical transport" during this year's race, but only 61 required trips to hospital, compared to over 300 last year. Also down? The number of racers. While all 45,000 slots were filled, only 33,033 started. Itching for more Marathonage? Stop by our gallery if you haven't already. more ›

According to Cook County Clerk David Orr’s office, 1,086 ballots were cast in the first 90 minutes of early voting in Chicago this morning. more ›

A 15-year-old has been charged with first degree murder and will be tried as an adult in the shooting of 13-year-old Sameere Conn earlier this month at a South Side grocery store. The shooting happened on October 1 at Hook Finer Foods; a 27-year-old man was also injured in the shooting. Police still aren't sure if Sameere was the intended target but suspect the shooter was a gang member. more ›

Are you like us and stuck in an office while others get the day off? And do you dig parades? If so, you can catch today's Columbus Day Parade streamed live over the interwebs over at ABC 7's website. more ›

The 2008 Chicago Marathon came and went as 35,000 runners galloped through city streets. Congrats to everyone who participated and a special congrats to everyone who finished. A marathon is a grueling thing (I've survived three) and finishing is the greatest triumph for any participant. Look at more in our Flickr Pool and by searching for "chicagoist marathon" on Flickr. more ›

A Sunday afternoon rally brought out a few hundred supporters for voting "yes" on an Illinois State Constitutional Convention. Such a referendum is automatically put on the ballot every 20 years and appears on this year's Election Day ballot. Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin (Dem.) said, "We need to change the educational article to make the state responsible for funding public education. That is not the case in Illinois. We need to change the revenue article. We don't have a progressive income tax." more ›

October has not been kind to Chicago sports fans. We got both baseball teams into the playoffs for the first time since 1906, and then watched helplessly as they combined for just one win before exiting in the opening round. But while the end of baseball in Chicago signals the beginning of our full-time devotion to the Bears, they've been even more frustrating to watch. Are curses contagious? more ›

Worried that a business trip or a hectic schedule will interfere with your chance to vote? Early voting for Chicagoans begins today and continues through Thursday, October 30. Check out the complete list of early voting locations. more ›

Fire Tie Crew, Clinch Playoff Spot more ›

The thermometer at today's Chicago Marathon topped out at 10 degrees cooler than last year's dangerous heat which led to 312 people treated for medical problems and perhaps was the cause of one runner's death. But it was still over 20 degrees above the temperature marathon runners prefer. Fortunately, an increase in fluids and medical aid stations helped keep health incidents to a minimum and the race finished as usual. Another factor that may have kept injuries down is that the prediction for warm weather seemed to have kept more people at home -- the official count of 35,000 starters reflected the most no shows ever. more ›

Blackhawks Lose Second Straight more ›

Another contributing factor the the current CTA shortfall is the almost $20 million $26.5 million in projected lost revenue from providing free rides to seniors, the arm twisting maneuver that Blagojevich rammed into the most recent transit bill. Did we mention that Ms. Nix was the governor's on the free ride program? Yeah, neither did she. [S-T] more ›

Two men are claiming they were were molested as teens by the former priest Rev. Donald McGuire, who convinced them they were “addicted” to masturbation and needed to be “educated” on how to stop. The two men are testifying in a federal jury trial. more ›

Hydrate, people! Hydrate! more ›

The Sunday shooting on the CTA’s No. 71 bus allegedly by Milton Wardlaw, was captured explicitly on seven cameras. Video footage shows riders diving for cover as a teenager was fatally shot in the head. more ›

In today's no surprise news, it looks like Tony Rezko is cooperating with the Feds in order to help his own sentence (happening in December). This is pretty much what we expected all along. While his information will surely hurt Blago, it remains to be seen how much it will affect the Obama campaign. At least one state GOP member thinks it won't harm Obama, who has not been accused of improper behavior in the case. State Senator Kirk Dillard (of Westmont), who is a McCain delegate but a friend to Obama, said, ''I think this strikes fear into the Blagojevich administration and the Statehouse Democrats but not into the Obama campaign." more ›

The CTA announced today that upon board approval they will start the process of developing a new "smart card" to be released by the end of the year. The new card will not only allow users to ride the rails, but also to pay for their I-GO car rentals. The new partnership also includes plans to add 8 more I-GO facilities at CTA locations, boosting the total to 18. more ›

Blackhawks Drop Opener To Rangers more ›

Mayor Daley today informed aldermen of a plan to increase the city's amusement tax in another effort to generate revenue to help fill that wide budget hole. Under the new plan, the amusement tax on tickets would increase at mid-sized venues from 4 to 5 percent and from 8 to 9 percent at larger sporting venues. And if you're paying $12 and up to park downtown, the tax on that will increase from $2.25 to $3. So as if tickets weren't expensive enough, that's more money to see Broadway, Bruce, and the Bears. more ›

"[The attacker] said, 'Now who is going to protect you?' " the victim's father said. " 'And she said that, 'God will protect me ... You can kill me, but you cannot take my soul.' She fought for her life, and that's how God saved her."

City Hall's response to cell-phone-yapping motorists is simple: get a hands-free device or put a sock in it. While that's still the case, a new plan working its way through city council would scale back the punishment for offenders of the cell phone ban, which now includes text messaging and internet surfing. Under the current ordinance, talkative drivers have their license taken away by the police department and can only get it back after they pay a fine or go to court. But during Wednesday's full council meeting, Mayor Daley introduced a proposal that allows offenders to keep their license. The proposal also allows violators the opportunity to contest their ticket by mail or through an administrative hearing. more ›

Mayor Daley announced today that he'll combine several city departments and cut 240 jobs in an attempt to save money in the face of the city's $420 million budget deficit, mostly among management positions. Sayeth the Mayor:

This is a national, worldwide crisis. This is going to get worse. It will not get better. That’s the sad thing. During these challenging times, we all need to work together to provide the services our people need, but in a way that our taxpayers can afford...Sometimes in a crisis, you can do things you can’t do [during good times]. You have to realign and look at everything...I’ll make the choice, just like what your company and others [have to do]. You have to make choices

So the city has a $420 million budget hole, the County sheriff refuses to enforce some evictions, crime is skyrocketing, and now Alderman Brendan Reilly (42nd) is pursuing a crusade against...valets. Reilly wants to change valet parking space requirements from 10 percent of a restaurant's seating capacity to 25 percent. So far this year, valet companies have been issued over 780 citations by police. Said Reilly:

People discover weeks, sometimes months, later that they've received parking tickets when they've left their vehicles with a valet. We see entire residential neighborhoods being taken over by valet-parked vehicles...We need to correct this bad behavior...The greatest demand for valet is in the evening. Many of the downtown parking facilities have excess capacity. There are available options.

Milton Wardlaw, charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Kiyanna Salters, has been denied bail at a hearing this morning. more ›

Reaching into Ross Perot's playbook, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama has purchased a half-hour primetime television spot from CBS and is currently negotiating with other networks to purchase the same time slot. Obama will air an election infomercial during the time slot, scheduled for Wednesday, October 29. Officials at CBS said, "We will, of course, make an equivalent opportunity available to Senator McCain and other legally qualified candidates upon request." Perot's spot in '92 drew in 16.5 million viewers. As long as Barack brings the pie charts and doesn't go up against America's Next Top Model, we're guessing he'll do okay, too. more ›

The Chicago Cubs picked up the option on starting pitcher Rich Harden for the 2009 season. The option will cost $7 million. After examinations Wednesday, it was determined Harden would not need off-season shoulder surgery for tendinitis. The 26-year old Harden, who has battled injuries, went 5-1 in 12 starts for the Cubs after the July 8th trade, and he sported a 1.77 ERA. Said Cubs GM Jim Hendry, "We are convinced he'll be able to do at least [25 starts] next year. Obviously, with shoulders you have some difficulties in cases like this. Rich will go into the offseason to make it stronger and rehab it all winter, and we feel confident he'll be ready to go by Opening Day." more ›

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, who made waves by announcing Wednesday he wouldn't enforce evictions of rent-paying tenants when the evictions were aimed at indebted landlords, was sued yesterday by Accredited Home Lenders so as to enforce Dart to move forward with such evictions. In a statement by attorneys, Accredited Home Lenders said:

Sheriff Dart may have concerns about the orders that he is charged with enforcing, but he simply cannot refuse to carry them out. The orders of the court must be enforced. This lawsuit is necessary to ensure that.

At that meeting, Dart told Kinnaird that too often his deputies are evicting renters who have not been given notice the property is in foreclosure. The sheriff suggested Kinnaird require banks to file an affidavit saying the homeowner and potential renters all have been given notice of the pending eviction before calling on deputies to evict residents.

Milton Wardlaw, the young man who turned himself in to authorities in connection to the shooting of 17-year-old Kiyanna Salters aboard a CTA bus Sunday, has officially been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm into an occupied vehicle. Wardlaw will attend a bail hearing today. He has previous convictions for drugs and weapons charges, and, while admitting he was on the bus and involved in an argument with another passenger, has claimed he was unarmed and did none of the shooting. more ›

Yesterday we were walking around Daley Plaza, looking to get a little photo-artistic during our lunch break, when we came across this guy exercising his First Amendment right the old-fashioned, analog way. His name is Paul, and his Website, advertised on his placard, attempts to expose "the lies, manipulation and counterfeiting on Wall Street." Let's hope he's got enough bandwidth! ROMS features, among other things, links to bailout coverage, YouTubes of news interviews, and other stuff related to naked short selling and other financial things we don't understand (because we don't have any investments...or own any money, come to think of it). more ›

Race officials and runners alike are keeping a wary eye on Sunday's weather forecast after last year's heat-plagued race in which more than 300 people were treated for heat exhaustion and one man even died. Officials claimed they turned back participants who had not reached the half-way point by 3.5 hours into the race while allowing the rest to finish [not true as I and several other runners were herded back to the Start Line in spite of being well past the half-way point, but I digress...] because of the extreme temperatures and ridonkulous lack of water and Gatorade. As of this afternoon, the National Weather Service is predicting sunny skies and a high of around 76. more ›

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart announced that he would stop enforcing evictions of rent-paying tenants when the order is actually aimed at a landlord who are being foreclosed on for not paying their mortgage. In a column published in the Sun-Times, Dart wrote:

What isn't part of our job, however, is to carry out work on behalf of the multi-billion-dollar banks and mortgage industries. more ›

Taylor Luck, 23, of Oak Park (and a Beloit College grad) and Holli Chmela, 27, of Washington, D.C., both journalists for the English-language Jordan Times went missing for a time only to surface in Syria as detainees of the Syrian government. They were caught as they tried to sneak into Syria via the border with Lebanon with the help of smugglers. Word then came this afternoon that the Syrian government had released the pair into U.S. custody and they were being taken to the U.S. Embassy in Damascus. The pair had told friends and family they were heading to Lebanon on vacation but hadn't been heard from in over a week. While Luck was still with the Jordan Times, Chmela had concluded an internship with the publication several weeks ago. more ›

We thought this would go away, but apparently, the residents who had their car towed have a real gripe. The following flyer comes to us via a resident whose car wasn't towed, but did receive the flyer alerting him to the race. Among other things, the flyer says: "The city will tow cars off the race route and move them to nearby streets and the Burr Elementary School parking lot." There is no mention anywhere of impounding the cars. [Typo: The year on the flyer reads 2007 which has been scrawled over with an '8' but the date (Sunday, October 5) is correct.] Check out the full flyer after the jump. more ›

A 26-page report released by the city's Inspector General David H. Hoffman completely skewers the Bureau of Sanitation department, documenting widespread goofing off and falsification of time records amongst sanitation employees. The Inspector General's Office investigated 77 garbage truck drivers and 145 laborers across 10 wards between May and September of this year in an effort to see if they were putting in their full time. The results showed an astonishing average of 26 percent of the work day -- 2 hours and 3 minutes -- was spent not working. Even the best ward had an average of 1 hour and 38 minutes of non-work time. Spreading out this average over all 50 wards, the IGO estimates an annual loss of $14.3 million in wages -- $20.9 million when factoring in benefits, truck maintenance and fueling costs. Hoffman places blame squarely on the shoulders of Bureau of Sanitation supervisors. more ›

A few weeks back, we looked at the possibility of a LGBT high school here in Chicago. That possibility is now on its way to becoming a reality. The proposal for Chicago's first lesbian, gay, bi, and transgendered-friendly high school was formally announced yesterday along with 20 other new public schools. Pride Campus of Social Justice High School (doesn't that sound a bit like an HQ for superheroes?) is slated to open in 2010 but a location for the school still hasn't been finalized. more ›

Well, this is some great news. The CTA announced its 2009 budget today and it seems those fare hikes we've been waiting will finally come to pass. The Ron said of the increase, “While this fare increase is difficult, we simply felt we had no choice.’’ And then he probably muttered, "Fucking Blagojevich," under his breath. So how will the fare increase affect riders? more ›

Sammy Sosa's boom box. Dugout electrical fans. Now we can add "Dodgers plumbing" to the list of things that frustrated Cubs players have taken out their aggressions on. Who broke the water pipe that caused the dugout to flood? No one's fessing up - and Cubs GM Jim Hendry doesn't give a rat's ass. He told the Trib: more ›

After all this fuss about the Adler earmark, we've stumbled upon the the perfect solution: a bath planetarium. "Bring the universe to the tub and relax!" And only $69.00 (plus shipping and handling)? Count us in. more ›

The Blackhawks, and hockey in general, have pretty much been off Chicagoist's radar the past few years between the lost season of '04-'05 and the generally unfriendly fan treatment by Bill Wirtz over the years. more ›

Alderman Scott Waguespack (32nd) has come to the defense of Bucktown residents whose cars were towed this weekend apparently without any warning to make room for a 5K race. Ald. Waguespack wrote a letter asking that those whose cars were towed be reimbursed for expenses incurred. Race organizer John Corrigan, however, insists that residents were properly notified of the race. more ›

Screw the Cubs and Sox; Chicago is racking up some real honors this week. Following University of Chicago Prof. Yoichiro Nambu winning a share of the Nobel Prize for Physics earlier this week comes news that Chicago native (and Niles East High School grad) Martin Chalfie has been awarded a share of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, along with Osamu Shimomura and Roger Y. Tsien, "for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP." Malfie discovered he had been recgonized when he checked the Nobel website to see who earned the award. "I said, 'I wonder what schnook won?' When I looked at my laptop and saw my name, I woke up my wife and said, 'I think you have to look at this.'" Chalfie is currently a geneticist at New York's Columbia University. Chalfie is the now-closed Niles East High's second Nobel winner; Robert Horvitz (then at MIT) was awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize for Medicine. more ›

We've been following the recent proposal to ban texting and web surfing while driving and now it's official: the city council unanimously approved the ban yesterday. You'll be allowed to do so only while your car is in park. Tickets will be $75 for a violation and $200 if the violation results in an accident. Hey! A local ordinance we actually support! Who knew? more ›

Answering pleas from his mother, Milton Wardlaw (pictured right) turned himself in and declared his innocence in Sunday's shooting death of 17-year-old Kiyanna Salters aboard a CTA bus. Wardlaw joined his family at Evening Star Missionary Baptist Church and was later escorted away by police. While police did not confirm that Wardlaw was the man on the surveillance tape, they did say they had a suspect in custody. Not to mention Wardlaw's own words:

We had an argument, dude pulled a gun on me and he basically escorted me off the bus with the gun. This should also be on camera. He escorted me off the bus with the gun. I'm like, 'Man, just don't shoot me in the back, please don't shoot me.' He cussed at me, like 'M-F'er, run' so I took off. I was running. I heard shots and I kept on running."

Even as the two-story penthouse has been sold, construction on the Spire has been halted for the time being. Officials blame the slowing economy for the halt but say condo sales continue and that the building will still be completed by 2012 as scheduled. For now, it remains just a hole in the ground, kind of like that fort I meant to build in my backyard when I was 10 years old. [via Gapers Block] more ›

his business, and tried to call the kid's parents. (Life lesson of the day: actual cash works better than promises.) When contacting them failed, he decided to take the extra step and get the police involved. more ›

During last night's debate, our ears perked up when Sen. John McCain dropped this little nugget:

[Sen. Obama] voted for nearly a billion dollars in pork barrel earmark projects, including, by the way, $3 million for an overhead projector at a planetarium in Chicago, Illinois. My friends, do we need to spend that kind of money?

Adler Planetarium, to support replacement of its projector and related equipment, $3,000,000 more ›

According to industry expert Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, as of 2007 Chicago has surged ahead of all other American cities to become the green roof top dog, with our green rooftop space totaling 517,633 square feet last year. Our fair city is also expecting an additional 4 million square feet of gardens to be completed or under construction by the end of 2008. more ›

Here's one for you history buffs: today marks the 137th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire. The fire burned from Sunday October 8 to early Tuesday October 10, 1871, killing 300 and destroying over 17,000 buildings. Of course, the city rose from the ashes and has since become the gleaming beacon of the Midwest (sorry, St. Louis). more ›

A Sox fan would never stoop to this level... more ›

Tony Rezko's October 28 sentencing date has been postponed indefinitely by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve since Rezko is still in talks with the government about cooperating with other federal investigations. A status meeting will occur in December. And for you conspiracy theorists out there: "The sentencing, originally scheduled for Oct. 28, just before the election, was likely to bring unfavorable publicity to Rezko's onetime friend Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama." more ›

Thank God last night's presidential debate wasn't a snoozer like the last one, which was so dull in comparison to the vice presidential debate. Both Senators John McCain and Barack Obama were more energized and aggressive this time around. So much so that the rules of the debate acted against them at numerous times (anyone for a cage-match style debate with mud and alligators?). more ›

Has it really been two months since Lollapalooza? Feels like it was just yesterday. What did happen yesterday was the announcement that the annual music fest brought in $1.6 million for the Chicago Park District, an increase of $400,000 over last year's take. Said Parks Supt. Timothy Mitchell, "They put on a great show." Indeed. Promoters agreed to cover the cost of repair to the park as well as the cost of the police protection while the Park District was guaranteed $1 million or 8.5 percent of the total take. A total of 225,000 people attended the fest in Grant Park this year, which featured the fest's first sell-outs in its history. more ›

The man accused of shooting 17-year-old Kiyanna Salters onboard a CTA bus Sunday night has been identified by family members thanks to surveillance footage from the bus even as police had already identified the man. While media reports aren't naming the man since he has yet to be officially charged with anything, the reports identified his mother as Patricia Wilson. She told the Trib, "I want my son to turn himself in. I want him to be safe, and I don't want him to be hurt in the streets." She also directly addressed her son, telling him, "Please baby, do the right thing. I don't want anything, anything at all to happen to you." more ›

Jose Antonio Mendoza, 28, of Hammond, Indiana has been charged with murder in connection to the death of his girlfriend's 17-month-old daughter, Savannah Fullgraf.

The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled her death was from multiple injuries due to child abuse. Doctors at St. Margaret Mercy Hospital in Hammond reported she had extensive bruises, as well as burns and broken bones.

Despite a bevy of concerns, mainly concerning money, the City Council's Finance Committee signed off on Mayor Daley's proposed leasing of Midway Airport. The main questions centered around how the decision to absorb the cost of police and fire protection at the airport (listed at $10 million a year) and what exactly would be done with the profits. One alderman, Leslie Hairston (5th), was upset about the lack of minority investors:

Chicago is not an all-white city. In a city as racially and culturally diverse as Chicago, before we go selling off the city's assets, we want to know that the purchasers are sensitive to that diversity. And we are not seeing that.

Mayor Daley likes to remind everyone about the current national economic crisis as a way of explaining Chicago's estimated $420 million budget shortfall. But Dan Mihalopoulos at the Chicago Tribune examines four areas in which the Daley administration could save millions of dollars. In short, city employees make a lot of money, the city depends too much on real estate taxes, there are way to many TIF districts, and not enough money is put aside in reserves. No doubt there will be a few readers upset over the omission of the "corruption tax," but at least the Trib's talking about TIFs. more ›

The Chicago Tribune's Twitter feed just informed us that "Sarah Palin kept up an assault today on Barack Obama's ass." Seriously. Maybe there is hope for the ol' rag yet! [TwitterTrib] more ›

It's a Chicagoist Choose Your Own Adventure: You're a mom. Your 13-year-old little girl comes home bawling after school one afternoon. "Why, daughter," you say, "Whatever could be the matter?" more ›

When you hear the phrase “train attacked by hit man,” you might think of John Wayne heroically defending rail cargo from villains wearing kerchiefs or perhaps (if you’re feeling more obscure) Steven Segal’s unfortunate appearance in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory [Ed.'s Note - "Unfortunate"? I beg to differ. - MG]. What you don’t immediately think of is our fair Metra. But back in 2007, according to charges revealed yesterday, the Metra was the site of a bizarre marriage-turned-murder-attempt worthy of a bad action movie. more ›

We'd like to congratulate University of Chicago professor Yoichiro Nambu, 87, who was awarded half of the Nobel Prize for Physics today "for the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics." According to the Nobel Foundation:

The fact that our world does not behave perfectly symmetrically is due to deviations from symmetry at the microscopic level. more ›

The queen of talk may soon be eating her words. Nomvuyo Mzamane, former headmistress of Oprah's Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, is suing the media mogul for defamation. The allegations stem from Oprah's remarks insinuating Mzamane had knowledge of and covered up the abusive behavior of former dorm matron Tiny Virginia Makopo. Per the Trib: more ›

If you were one of the Bucktown residents whose car was controversially towed Saturday night before a 5K race with allegedly no warning, or if you know someone whose car was towed, take heart because you still have some recourse to challenge the $160 cost of getting your car out of the impound. more ›

We know it's hard for you Joe Six Packs and Hockey Moms to get out to register to vote in this crazy world we live in. We just wanted to reminded you that today is the last day to register to vote. Still haven't but want to? You betcha ya can. Just head on out to one of these six locations if you're registering here in the Windy City. more ›

Police have revealed more information on Sunday night's CTA shooting that left an innocent 17-year-old dead. Kiyanna Salter was sitting with her cousin, Jasmine Wilcox, on the No. 71 bus Sunday, talking to a man on the bus the two had just met. At that point, another man accidentally touched the man's hand hand as he was exiting the bus. And that's all it took. The two men argued briefly and both flashed guns in an apparent (and now traditional) show of machismo. As the man exiting the bus finally got off, he turned and fired into the bus. But instead of striking his intended target, the bullets hit Kiyanna, killing her instantly. Jasmine said, "I didn't know it was her who got shot until they said somebody got shot. I happened to look up, and it was just her laying there. I just went to her and grabbed her hand. I just grabbed her hand." more ›

The city of Chicago landed both of our teams in the postseason for the first time since the Teddy Roosevelt administration, and all we got was one stinkin' win before both teams' fortunes sunk quicker than Wall Street. On Monday night, the White Sox saw their season come to a close after losing to the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 at the Cell. more ›

In today's "No Shit" story, Attorney General Lisa Madigan admitted that she is considering running for governor even as the next gubernatorial election is still two years away. She said she is "thinking about" making the run at the state's top office, where she'll likely face competition from, among others, Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and Comptroller Dan Hynes. more ›

A new battle pitting citizens against the city is brewing in Bucktown where 137 cars were towed over the weekend to clear the roads for a 5K race, an action that residents say happened without warning. The Streets and Sanitation Department begs to differ; spokesman Matt Smith claims the signs were posted Thursday night and Friday warning residents of the Sunday morning race. A home-made sign posted in the neighborhood Sunday morning directed residents to call Ald. Scott Waguespack's office if they felt their cars had been wrongly towed. Tim Eberline, whose car was towed while he spent the night with a friend, was told when he got his car out of the impound that "by immediately retrieving -- rather than putting in the paper work to appeal the tow -- he was told he was pleading guilty and had no further recourse." There must be a mix-up because the city would never pull a fast one on its residents for the purposes of financial gain. more ›

Back when we were in high school, the most we had to worry about at the big dance was our girlfriend Ariel's Bible-thumping preacher father catching us all and enforcing our small town's "no dancing" ordinance. But the kids at Maine South High School in Park Ridge had a bigger concern at their homecoming dance this past weekend when school officials were notified that 911 dispatch had received not one, not two, but three anonymous calls reporting that there was a bomb at the school. more ›

Since the Sun-Times won't say it, we will: We call bullshit, Dan Schmitt. Schmitt is the producer who's responsible for putting Top Chef Stephanie Izard's face on a logo for a public access show from Tony Peraica's campaign called, "What's COOKing With The Republicans?" Not only is it the weakest and most drawn out use of a pun for political purposes in recent memory, but it's just not possible that you would create a "cooking" show and use Izard's visage - and then claim you had no idea who she was. Especially when you took her likeness from a Top Chef promo photo. more ›

It's Monday so in case you're feeling gloomy, here are some great shots from our Flickr pool of scenes around our city to help you turn that frown upside down. more ›

It cannot be overstated how much clowns are loathed and completely off-limits around the Chicagoist office. And now a man on the West Side is giving us another reason to hate them. The man, who has been sighted driving a white or brown van with the windows broken out, has recently approached several children in areas on the West Side. The man sports, "a clown mask or white face paint with teardrops on the cheek" and has been seen in the Garfield Park neighborhood. He has also approached students near Beidler Elementary School (3151 W. Walnut St.) and Polaris Charter Academy (620 N. Sawyer Ave). Police aren't sure of the man's exact motives, but this whole thing screams Stranger Danger to us, so keep your eyes peeled, parents, and be sure to contact Harrison Area detectives with any more info. more ›

Last week, the U.S. Senate passed a bill, the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act, that President Bush says he'll sign [though the margin of yeas to nays - 74 to 24 including yeas from both Illinois Senators Obama and Durbin - made the bill veto-proof] that will send $13.1 billion in funding to Amtrak over the next five years. Part of the funding could go to creating a nine-state high-speed rail network throughout the Midwest, composed of 3,000 miles of track, of which Chicago would serve as the hub. more ›

This week's issue of the New Yorker features an editorial endorsement of Illinois Senator Barack Obama for president. So maybe they really were just messin' around with that whole cover fiasco? more ›

We're in the home stretch of Campaign '08 and with the approaching election comes the voter registration deadline. If you haven't registered to vote yet, you'd better get a move on: the deadline for Illinois to vote in this year's general election is tomorrow, Tuesday, October 7. The Cook County Clerk's Office has full details on how to register. Can't get registered before Tuesday? You're in luck. A new law allows for a "grace period registration" during which you can still register to vote in the upcoming election, though it will be by absentee ballot and you won't be allowed to vote at the polls. During the grace period, you can visit any of the Clerk's six locations to register and fill out your absentee ballot. The grace period dates and times are as follows: more ›

Mayor Daley's plan to lease Midway for 99 years goes before the City Council's Finance and Aviation committees in a joint hearing this morning. The proposed $2.52 billion lease would largely help payoff airport debt and leave a net profit of around $1 billion. Assuming the committees agree to the lease, the full Council would vote on Wednesday to approve the lease. Somehow, we don't see there being much opposition to this. more ›

Are the Bears really that good a team, or are the Lions that terrible? The Bears went into Detroit and mauled the Lions on Sunday 34-7 to improve to 3-2 on the season. more ›

Cartoon for Chicagoist by Tim Daly more ›

Unlike their rivals across town, with their backs against the wall the White Sox found a way to extend their best-of-five series beyond the minimum three games by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 at U.S Cellular Field. more ›

Kiyanna Salters, 17, was killed in a shooting on a No. 71 bus Sunday night. The incident happened around 10 p.m. as the bus approached the intersection of Cottage Grove and 71st Street. A man on the bus got into an argument with another passenger before exiting the bus. Shortly after exiting the bus, the man opened fire into the bus before fleeing the scene. Kiyanna was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where she was pronounced dead shortly after 10:30 p.m. She was a student at Julian High School, the same school that Blair Holt, the 16-year-old shot onboard a CTA bus in May 2007, attended. Police still are not sure whether or not Kiyanna was the intended target. more ›

"We didn't play well. We didn't deserve to win. We played well all year and for us to have three games like this is shocking." - Mark DeRosa [MLB] more ›

This weekend's NFL TV Schedule for Chicago (courtesy of The 506): more ›

It's been a sad weekend for Chicago journalism. First, Norman Ross passed away at the end of the week, and now Ray Coffey has departed for the Great Beyond at the age of 79 from complications due to Alzheimer's. A native of Racine, Wisconsin and a graduate of Marquette, his career spanned 46 years, 38 of those spent here in Chicago with the Chicago Daily News, Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. more ›

As we are now a month away from Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 4), it's appropriate that our weather is undecided. Sunny? Rainy? Who knows? What we do know is that with a high in the mid-60s, you can look for variable cloudiness and a 60% chance of showers. more ›

It seems appropriate that the Cubs season ended on an Alfonso Soriano check-swing. It reflected the Cubs' performance in the postseason: half-assed. It showed again Saturday night as the Cubs failed to produce any offense and lost to the Dodgers, 3-1, and were eliminated from the 2008 playoffs. Just like in Game Two, the Cubs fell behind early and didn't produce a run until the later innings and, even then, it wasn't enough. more ›

President Bush yesterday declared Chicago a disaster area, allowing people affected by the massive rain and flooding on September 13th to request financial assistance. Also eligible are residents in Cook, DuPage, Will, Kane, Grundy and LaSalle counties. Coordinated through FEMA, the assistance will include grants to pay for things like extensive home repairs and temporary housing -- although if you just had a flooded basement you're probably out of luck. [D-H] more ›

Since Rezko's felony conviction in June, the FBI has been investigating how the former top Blagojevich fund-raiser billed the governor and his wife for the work, who paid for it and whether Rezko ever arranged for cash to be passed in envelopes to the Blagojeviches, several sources familiar with the probe told the Chicago Sun-Times.

OK, this is starting to get ridiculous, Chicago. Two teams in the playoffs, each has played two games and we've yet to celebrate a victory on either side of town. In a game that looked early on like it had the makings of a Sox blowout, the South Siders instead fell to Tampa Bay 6-2 in Friday evening's game two of the ALDS. more ›

Renowned local television and radio personality Norman Ross passed away this morning at the age of 86 from congestive heart failure. Ross was a popular radio host on WGN and WFMT, including the shows Tunes from Talman and The Norman Ross Show. Ross also worked at ABC 7 as a reporter and commentator from 1989 to 2001. Away from the media, Ross was "vice president for public affairs for First National Bank of Chicago for many years, and chaired the architectural competition for a new downtown Chicago public library." His father was Norman Ross, Sr., 1920 Olympic gold medalist and also a radio host. more ›

Elgin High School student Jill Howe, 15, learned this week that not everyone is up to date on the Cubs' roster. Howe was wearing a Fukudome jersey when a school administrator stopped her in the hall. Even after Howe explained who Fukudome was and that it wasn't obscene, dean Susan Matei still ordered Howe to take the jersey off and wear a gym shirt to class. Howe informed her mother of the incident and, after a phone call to the school, the misunderstanding was cleared up. Associate Principal Alan Flota said, "As long as it is a legitimate name, they will be allowed to wear it." Well, that's good. Besides, we find Fukudome's .000 postseason batting average way more offensive than any mispronunciation of his name. more ›

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the controversial financial bailout plan 263-171 today, just days after rejecting a previous version of the bill. more ›

After two years of legal battling, the Illinois Appellate Court upheld a ruling by Cook County Court Judge Sheldon Garber ordering the owners of Jimbo's Lounge (3258 S. Princeton) to vacate the premises. The battle began when building owners Ray and Donna DeGrazia opted not to renew the lease with bar owners Jimbo and Joyce Levato. The Levatos claimed they had a verbal agreement on a new lease on which the DeGrazias reneged. more ›

Look, we're incensed Jeanette Sliwinski got off so easily after killing three vibrant members of the local music community, but we find the news that she is now under increased police protection due to death threats she received shortly before her release from prison to be abhorrent. We can go back and forth for years about how her debt to society -- and specifically to the three families she decimated through her botched suicide attempt -- but threatening her well being is not a viable option. We would hope that the people involved would instead turn their wrath on a broken legal system and do their best to draw attention to that. [Trib] more ›

Anyone looking for a train wreck at last night's Vice Presidential debate came away disappointed. Democrat Sen. Joe Biden didn't ramble too badly and Republican Gov. Sarah Palin exceeded expectations by solidly, if uninspiringly, standing her ground. Gone was the Palin who looked in over her head in interviews with Katie Couric and, instead, was one who had her answers well-prepared answers and deftly dodged the questions she didn't want to answer, saying at one point, "And I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear..." more ›

Yesterday, we expressed our disappointment that Jeanette Sliwinski was being released after serving less than three years for killing three local musicians in a suicide attempt car crash in 2005. In spite of how we feel about the situation, we're further disappointed by the fact that Sliwinski has received death threats, forcing police to stand guard outside her family's Morton Grove home. The Illinois Department of corrections received the threats shortly before Sliwinski's release yesterday. Said police Commander Brian Bolger, "We're hoping it was a random type of baseless threat, but we still take all threats seriously." more ›

"We might as well not have had gloves on." - Derek Lee [MLB] more ›

The new American Girl Place store opened Wednesday at Watertower Place, positioned to cash in on its proximity to mall traffic. Five store entrances lead shoppers into a space that is 30 percent larger, newly festooned with a doll T-shirt design shop, personal shopping rooms and a “streetscape” of doll service shops (shoppes?) like an ear piercing store and a beauty salon. Already the largest of the retailer’s flagship stores, Chicago’s American Girl Place has generated nearly half the cumulative traffic of the nation’s five retail stores since 1998 – 13 million visits. The move across the street will create 50 new full time positions and 120 part-time holiday positions. more ›

Wrigleyville is shell-shocked right now and us Cubs fan can only shake our heads and wonder what the hell has happened. After a sharp start to the night, the Cubs booted the game away (literally) in the second inning and never recovered as the Dodgers topped the Cubs again, 10-3. The Dodgers now have a two-games-to-none lead in the series and the Cubs are one game away from being swept from the playoffs in the first round for the second straight year. more ›

Javier Vasquez pitched exactly as we feared he would in Game One of the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays, allowing six runs in 4 1/3 innings. The erratic Sox starter dug the team into a hole from which they couldn't recover before losing 6-4 Wednesday afternoon. more ›

We all know the Wrigley Field tradition of throwing an opponent's home run ball back on to the field. It's a great one, even when performed by the joyless corporate VIPs who made Wrigley Field a quiet, soulless place to watch the game last night [author's note - I say that as a Cubs fan]. But there's throwing the ball back onto the field, and then there's being a sore-loser-jerkstore, as was the case with Lincoln Park's Paul Solans last night. Solans caught one of the Dodger home run balls (the Sun-Times doesn't say which of the three he caught) but instead of tossing it back gently and immediately, he waited for the Dodgers to take the field in the next inning, then promptly fired the ball at Dodger outfielder Manny Ramirez. Fortunately for Manny, Solans had about as much as control on his fastball as Dempster did last night and missed. ZING! Security guards apprehended Solans and turned him over to police. We doubt Manny noticed a thing. more ›

CTA head Ron Huberman and other local transit officials faced the City Council today and faced criticism on potential fare hikes and the debacle that is the Block 37 project. On the subject of a fare increase, Huberman said:

Ultra-low diesel, which is what we use on our buses, has increased 80 percent. Next year, we will be spending $50 million more for the same quantity of fuel than we spent the prior year. Electrical costs are coming in over 25 percent higher than they were the prior year. That means that we will be spending $7 million more just for electricity,” Huberman said. more ›

“I know the arguments against this — that we shouldn’t be a nanny state, that we shouldn’t be a nanny city, that people should be permitted to have some freedom of choice,” said Burke, who also wanted to ban trans fats and impose mandatory calorie counts. more ›

Former 3rd Ward Alderman Dorothy Tillman was found guilty today of criminal trespassing in Montgomery, Alabama stemming from a March incident at a hospital. Tillman, who is from Montgomery, was visiting an elderly aunt at Jackson Hospital and became "very disorderly" when the hospital would not turn over her aunt's records on demand, telling Tillman they first needed a written request. She was sentenced to $541 in fines and 10-day jail sentence which was suspended. more ›

There's trouble brewing in Cicero over a flag. Besides the U.S. and Illinois flags, as well as what the Trib refers to as "sports flags," a community park has recently displayed the Mexican flag. Over recent years, Cicero's population has shifted from Eastern European to a majority of Latino residents (80 percent, according to a Town Trustee). Still, the non-Latino residents weren't happy about it. Helen Brave saw the flag at a recent park opening and said, "You know, it really hurts me...There were a lot of different people at the park, including Polish, Lithuanian and Italian people. Yet they were flying the Mexican flag?" She also suggested an ordinance to ban flying foreign flags on public property. Resident Susan Masek had harsher words at a recent town meeting, saying, "We are at war and you're flying a foreign flag? We want that flag down. This is the United States. Only the American flag should be there." more ›

In response to the Cubs 7-2 loss in Game One: more ›

Last week, we mentioned ex-model Jeanette Sliwinski, who killed three local musicians in a suicide attempt car crash, was set to be released. Today, her day of freedom has arrived as the Morton Grove woman was released from the Lincoln Correctional Center this morning. While we do have some sympathy for the mental illness that Sliwinski suffers from, to say that the time she served for killing three people is just a slap on the wrist is still a gross understatement. While Sliwinski spent a little over two years in jail awaiting trial, she ultimately served only 10 months of her four year sentence. Michael Mette, the Chicago Police officer who was arrested in Iowa on assault charges and is now free, received a longer sentence for punching a guy in the face. Michael Dahlquest, John Glick, and Douglas Meis are not coming back and someone should have to answer for this. But we guess it won't be the person who killed them. more ›

Ben Gordon thinks he's a superstar. Ben Gordon wants superstar money. Only problem is that the rest of the NBA doesn't agree with his own inflated self worth. more ›

Late Wednesday evening, the U.S. Senate passed a revised version of the $700 billion financial rescue plan by a count of 74-25. Sen. Ted Kennedy, recovering from a brain tumor, was the lone senator who did not cast a vote. more ›

Well, that didn't take long. All the regular season optimism is gone as Wrigleyville descended into panic Wednesday night while the Dodgers thumped the Cubs 7-2 to take 1-0 in their NL Divisional Series. Ryan Dempster, who pitched so well at home all season long, flirted with danger all night, walking seven and loading the bases in the third only to get himself out. But if you flirt with danger long enough, it'll bite you in the ass and it bit Dempster in the form of a fifth inning grand slam off the bat of James Loney. Sean Marshall gave up a homer to Manny Ramirez in the seventh, the Dodgers added another run in the eighth, and Russell Martin homered off of Marquis in the ninth to cap things off. more ›

Federal officials arrested 11 members accused of being members of the Juarez Drug Cartel who they say are responsible for distributing cocaine and marijuana in the Chicago area. According to WBBM, "Between December 2007 and July 2008, the cocaine was sold wholesale to for $20,000 to $22,000 per kilogram, while marijuana sold for $500 to $1,050 per pound". Feds think members rounded up in the arrest are also linked to a Little Village triple murder which officials are calling a "drug hit." more ›

Unemployed since the Bears cut him following two DUI arrests, Cedric Benson has landed himself a new job. And given his rap sheet, it shouldn't surprise anybody that he signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. more ›

The 11th Congressional District race in Illinois started off looking like a slam-dunk for the Democratic Party. But that might not be the case anymore. more ›

According to CNN, hikers in Mammoth Lake, California have found personal items belonging missing adventurer and former Chicago options trader Steve Fossett who has been missing since last September. more ›

The city of Springfield is looking to recoup $50,000 in expenses from the Obama campaign stemming from his August 23 rally to announce Senator Joe Biden as his running mate. City spokesman Ernie Slottag said, "The mayor (Timothy Davlin) is looking at all our finances and would like to recover whatever costs we can." The Obama campaign offered no comment. Obama's campaign was not billed for his February 2007 rally that announced his candidacy, but, according to Slottag, Springfield didn't "keep track of separate expenses for that event." Aaron Schock, a Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives (18th district), held a rally in Springfield earlier this year that included an appearance by President Bush. Schock told a radio station the party plans to pay Springfield $38,000 for expenses related to that event. more ›

Last week, we wrote about the shortage of police officers as crime in the city was rising, a correlation Mayor Daley denied. In keeping with his line of (faulty?) thought, a number of the proposed job vacancies being eliminated in the City's attempt to get it's $420 million budget under control includes several hundred police positions. According to the Sun Times, "the Chicago Police Department has 329 sworn vacancies and 424 openings for non-sworn police employees. That's in addition to the 705 officers on medical leave and 625 officers on limited or convalescent duty status." These vacancies would be eliminated in spite of Daley's promise earlier this year to add more officers to the force. more ›

Amid all the debates about CTA funding and fare increases, we haven’t been paying all that much attention to taxi prices. Many will remember that, on April 28, cab companies were allowed to add a $1 surcharge to offset the high costs of gas, but taxi drivers say that isn’t enough. Not only have gas prices risen 75 cents (or more) a gallon since the surcharge was added, but the surcharge has had some unexpected consequences. Prateek Sampat, spokesman for the United Taxi Drivers Community Council, claims that drivers’ tips have decreased as a result of the added $1 charge. Perhaps the prominently displayed sign has irritated riders? Also, Sampat says, the price of everything has increased in the last year and cab drivers cannot make ends meet. more ›

This is one of the more ridiculous things to come out of the mouth of a ridiculous governor (which is saying something): at the Cubs rally yesterday in Daley Plaza, Gov. Blagojevich said:

When you're the executive, you've gotta make decisions and you've got to go through the ups and the downs...Sometimes when I'm arguing with the Legislature, I feel like Lou Piniella arguing with the umpires. Some of the times I have to make decisions as governor, I ask myself, 'What would Lou do?' Then I make some decision.

Yesterday, we looked at the Windy Citizen's interview with Chicago Police officer Michael Mette, serving a five-year prison term in Iowa for assault stemming from a 2005 fight. This morning, the Iowa Court of Appeals overturned Mette's conviction. The Court of Appeals agreed with Mette's contention that he acted in self-defense, saying:

After being pushed and knocked backward two or three times, there was nothing in the record to indicate Michael could have avoided Gothard's next blow, without his defensive punch...While it may be possible to speculate on Michael's ability to retreat, the record is utterly void of any testimony to support that assumption.

After a dramatic 1-0 victory on Tuesday night, the White Sox are AL Central Champs.They sure didn't make it easy, though, did they? Had the White Sox not lost five games in a row last week, they probably could have locked up the division over the weekend and had a couple days of rest like all other playoff teams. Instead, in order to win the AL Central title they had to beat Detroit in a make-up game on Monday, and then play the Twins in a one-game playoff. more ›

We were fortunate to score tickets to last night's play-in game between the Sox and Twins. John Danks pitched a gem of a game: a two-hit, eight-inning performance that had the "piranhas" stymied. I don't know how the "blackout" looked on television, but in person it was nothing short of mesmerizing. I did see at least four fans who made the unfortunate decision to paint their faces black; no one ever said common sense and sports mix well. more ›